LTE=4g, WCDMA/HSPA=3g, GSM and GPRS and others=2g. 2g is switched off in Australia & 3g was switched off 28 Oct 2024.
At the close of 2024, 4G subscribers worldwide are still very high at just below 5.1 billion, 5G 2.1 billion, 3G about 600 million and 2G about 900 million.
The top 100 tower companies in the world control and manage over 1½ million buildings that house shared telecommunications infrastructure. This figure does not include China (2 million) or Russia (85,000).
In the US (307,000) the carriers have effectively exited the tower business. Most sold their towers to companies like American Tower (AMT) and Crown Castle. They construct, maintain and operate the towers, and lease space back to the carriers.
In Australia in 2017 there were 21,472 base stations. 7772 towers were owned by Telstra with other owners NBN, Optus, Vodafone, Ericcson, Nokia (and others). In 2021 Optus auctioned off all its towers. The towers are currently erected and maintained by subcontractors - Comstar, Westcom and Pacific Towers. With 5G poles, many are owned by local governments, and Transport departments.
In Australia statistics as at 31 January 2023
GSM, 4G (LTE) and 5G all have different frame structures and use distinct technologies for data transmission and network architecture. GSM, primarily a 2G technology, uses a time-division multiple access (TDMA) system with fixed frame and slot structures. 4G LTE (having two antennas) uses a more flexible Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) approach with static subframes and slots. 5G NR (having 4 antennas) utilizes even more flexible subframe and slot structures
GSM (2G) Frame Structure:
GSM uses a TDMA system where a frame is divided into 8 slots, each carrying a single burst of data.
Each frame lasts 4.615 ms and contains 160 bits of information.
4G (LTE) Frame Structure:
4G LTE uses a more advanced OFDM technique to transmit data across multiple subcarriers within the same bandwidth.
Each frame is divided into 10 subframes, with each subframe lasting 1 ms.
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GSM Frame Structure
https://www.allelcoelec.com/blog/gsm-frame-structure.html?srsltid=AfmBOoptORqP2O9AhFEpudKk6o2NBfIT30wINAy7L3wqTG2FMGtRqHau
In GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), time is divided into units called "burst periods," each lasting about 0.577 milliseconds. A GSM frame consists of eight burst periods, totaling 4.615 milliseconds, and organizes different types of channels that handle voice, data, and network control. Each burst period corresponds to a physical channel that carries voice, data, or signaling information.
GSM (2G) and LTE (Long-Term Evolution, referred to as 4G) differ in technology, speed, and functionality:
Technology: GSM uses a combination of FDMA and TDMA. LTE uses orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) for downlink and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for uplink.
Speed: LTE offers higher data rates, with peak download rates of up to 300 Mbps and upload rates of 75 Mbps, compared to GSM's maximum data speeds of about 114 kbps.
Network Architecture: GSM is a circuit-switched system that handles voice and data separately. LTE is entirely packet-switched and capable of handling voice and data over the same Internet Protocol (IP) based network, increases efficiency.
Latency: LTE networks have lower latency compared to GSM, enhancing the experience for applications requiring real-time data transmission, like online gaming or video conferencing.
Also, 5G technology does not use GSM. 5G is built on new radio frequencies and a new network architecture designed to improve speed, capacity, and latency over previous cellular generations. It uses technologies such as massive MIMO (Multiple Inputs Multiple Outputs), beamforming, and more advanced access technologies that differ from GSM's FDMA/TDMA-based system.
2G 1 Antenna, 3G 1 or 2, 4G 2, 5G 4 antennas
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