1Overview of Mobile Networks
1.1 Introduction
Mobile networks are differentiated from each other with the word ‘generation’, such as ‘first generation’, ‘second generation’, etc. This is quite correct because there is a big ‘generation gap’ between the technologies.
The first‐generation mobile systems were the analogue (or semi‐analogue) systems, which came in the early 1980s, also called NMTs (Nordic Mobile Telephones). They offered mainly speech and related services and were highly incompatible with each other. Thus, their main limitations were the limited amount of services offered and their incompatible nature.
An increase in the necessity for a system that catered to mobile communication needs and also offered increased compatibility with other systems, resulted in the birth of the second‐generation mobile systems. International bodies played a key role in evolving a system that would provide better services and was more transparent and compatible with networks globally. But, unfortunately, the second‐generation network standards could not fulfil the dream of having just one set of standards for networks globally. The standards in Europe differed from the standards in Japan and that of the Americas and so on. Of all the standards, the GSM went all the way in fulfilling the technical and the commercial expectations.
But, again, none of the standards in the second generation was able to fulfil the globalisation dream of the standardisation bodies. This would be fulfilled ...