The terms 3G and LTE are advanced technologies used in mobile phones.
Key Takeaways
- 3G is a third-generation wireless technology that offers voice, messaging, and internet services with slower download and upload speeds than LTE, a fourth-generation technology with faster speeds.
- 3G networks use older CDMA and GSM technologies, while LTE uses newer technologies like OFDMA and MIMO.
- LTE is ideal for streaming high-quality video, downloading large files, and playing online games, while 3G is suitable for basic internet browsing, emailing, and voice calls.
3G vs LTE
The difference between 3G and LTE is that 3G is the oldest technology in the group, and it is slower than LTE. On the other hand, LTE is a new technology which is ten times faster than 3G.
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The term 3g refers to the third-generation network, the oldest technology in the group.
It was the first technology that provided sufficient speed for the user to experience decent speed on a smartphone. Before 3g, the user used 2g technology where the data was too slow, and also,
the user had to wait for a long time to load data.
LTE is referred to as Long Term Evolution. This technology can be ten times faster than 3g. it is also referred to that the network speed depending upon the signal strength and network load.
It is also believed that LTE does not meet its theoretical speed, but it is still faster than 3G.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | 3G | LTE |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It is referred to as the third generation network, the first technology that provides sufficient speed to the user to experience decent speed on a smartphone. | LTE refers to a long-term evolution, the newer version of 3G. LTE is derived from the idea of mobile connectivity. It is a peak for many years of resources and development. |
| Speed | 3G can run up to 7.2 Mbps, which is slower than the LTE. | LTE can run up to 100 Mbps, which is faster than 3G. |
| Servers | 3G is an old technology that has stable, established servers. | LTE is a new technology that does not have stable, established servers. |
What is 3G?
3G is referred to as a mobile communication standard, which is a third-generation network.
The 3G service provider can enable 3g technologies because it allows connecting the internet through our smartphones.
Before 3G was launched, people used 2G and had to spend a lot of time waiting as the webpage loaded back then.
It just frustrated many people, but it was changed after the 3G was launched. 3G was first launched in Japan in 2001 and has been used since then.
It is a third evolution project which was first launched in the early 80s, which is almost twenty-one years of development.
3G is considered the 3rd generation networking standard that provides cell phone technology, which is highly introduced to provide high-speed data service on a mobile device.
It has become more widespread so that it can connect to the internet at a practical speed far better than the previous generation of mobile technology.
This network has explained to the world that mobile phones are not just limited to text messages and voice calls; rather, we can download a huge lot of information to the phone with the help of the internet.
And not only that, users can stream video and audio from thousands of miles away and can also be used in office work where multimedia can be exchanged between co-workers.
Lastly, 3G makes the smartphone worthwhile as it easily changes billions of people’s communication and makes the user accept more advanced technologies such as 4G and 5G.
What is LTE?
LTE refers to a long-term evolution, the newer version of 3G.
LTE is derived from the idea of mobile connectivity. It is a peak for many years of resources and development.
LTE is mainly compared with 4G, but the speed of 4G is much higher than LTE’s current capabilities. LTE is a popular term in North America to explain the fast-speed mobile data connection.
4G and LTE have similar connection speeds but are advanced compared to 3G. It is also believed that LTE stands just behind 4G.
It provides high-speed broadband data and high-speed mobile; it also supports public safety functions and telephone service. It is also believed that the safety net has its frequency on the LTE spectrum.
This network also has special features so that they can manage their network. The first feature is that it assigns priorities to the customer.
It is considered that emergency calls get higher priorities. If there are many numbers of folk in the network, then the priorities will decide which call should be connected and which call be disconnected.
Another feature is that LTE is a self-organizing network, which means if there is an outage. The calls will be rerouted automatically to another path but revert to an optimally designed path once the service is restored.
Main Differences Between 3G and LTE
- The terms 3G and LTE are advanced technologies used in mobile phones.
- 3G can run up to 7.2 Mbps, which is very good at that time. On the other hand, LTE can run up to 100 Mbps, which is less speed than 4G.
- 3G can be slow at the time of download. On the other hand, LTE is much faster, and we can also tell that LTE is faster than 3G.
- 3G can be an excellent choice of network for old mobile phones. On the other hand, LTE can be an excellent choice of network for new mobile phones.
- 3G is an old technology that has stable, established servers. On the other hand, LTE is a new technology that does not have stable, established servers.
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
