[ad_1]
Do you still remember what the first 2G (GSM) mobile phones were like? These devices, called “bricks,” barely fit in the palm of your hand, and their true decoration was the antenna that protruded from the body (or, later, was removed).
“The phones of that time were developed primarily as a means of communication. These were radio devices, not game consoles or minicomputers as they are now. They had normal antennas and all components, from the battery to the processor, took care of the connection in the first place. Nobody thought too much about the user’s comfort. As a result, the connection parameters were much easier to access at the time. There were only a few stations and it was possible to guarantee communication throughout Vilnius “, Mindaugas Grigas , a senior radio network planning engineer at Telia, remembers the start of GSM communication in Lithuania in 1995.
Clipped antennas and new frequency
As equipment and services sounded, mobile communication became increasingly available to the masses. The phones have been phased out and their antennas have been integrated into the case, making it more comfortable for people and making the phone look more attractive. But, as M. Grigas says, physics will not be fooled: to send and receive energy, you need space, and it is by cutting the antennas that the manufacturers have reduced it.
“So what do we have: the phones have been dropped, the antennas have been hidden in the case and it is covered by a palm or head during a conversation. We lose 3 decibels (dB) or more, which is 2 times or more in terms of If we have lost so much energy, then we have to build twice as many transmitters and receivers in the network, “says M. Grigas.
Not only that, the requirements for the phones themselves have increased: they already had to work not only in the 900 MHz frequency band but also in the 1800 MHz frequency band. After all, with a lower frequency (thus continuing to spread and overcoming obstacles) at 900 MHz, operators ensured coverage of the territory, but began to run out of capacity: the number of devices that could connect to a station is limited. This problem was solved by the 1800 MHz frequency, which helped compress the network, especially in urban centers.
3G phone connection: up to 6 times worse
The situation became even more complicated with the beginning of the era of 3G communication: in Lithuania it happened in 2006. As M. Grig explains, from the radio point of view, two devices were already working on the same telephone body, which It supported even more frequencies and had to continuously operate on both networks simultaneously.
Because everything ran on the same battery, it was necessary to save energy, and the manufacturers decided to reduce the power of the phone’s transmitters.
“From a radio perspective, it was a really significant cut. At that time, comparisons of 3G phones and old GSM phones made by Telia Company showed that the degradation of the new generation telephone connection reached 6-8 dB or, from the network perspective, 4-6 times, “he says. M. Grigas.
Demand more and perform less
And finally, smartphones: the touchscreen, which covers the entire front of the case and can compete with televisions in terms of resolution, has become a true source of energy, as it needs constant lighting. And where are the powerful processors, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, and other technologies that constantly run applications in the background; All this requires not only space in the case, but also energy, the resources of which are extremely limited.
Not only that, 4G LTE has teamed up with 2G and 3G technologies, for which four different frequency bands are used only in Lithuania: 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2600 MHz. Therefore modern smartphones They are constantly “chatting” in Lithuania with three networks, on 8 different frequencies.
To increase Internet speed, phones can combine several different frequencies and receive and send data on all of them at the same time. For example, it is possible to use four frequencies simultaneously on the Telia network. Furthermore, data at different frequencies can be received and sent in two or four parallel transmissions.
“Simultaneous operation of antennas, transmitters, and other equipment at four different frequencies, up to 20 transmissions, all powered by the same battery, is particularly difficult. And although the number of tasks for the radio part sometimes increases, its space and energy resources are decreasing. This means even more work for operators. If in the past there were enough stations every 3 km to guarantee quality communication, today the stations are located in cities every 500 meters, ”says M. Grigas.
The stations will be wifi stations
According to the engineer, if you go back to the 2000s with a modern smartphone, you would have to search for a connection when you pick up the phone, and even in big cities there would be many places where you could not make a call or the connection would be interrupted. And before you try to catch at least one unit, a person next to you with a “brick” could call as easily as possible.
In terms of connectivity, modern push-to-talk phones aren’t much better: They use similar antennas and other radio-part components like smartphones.
And the trend will remain the same in the future. “We are already talking about a 5G connection, whose base stations will provide less power, smaller dimensions, more similar to home Wi-Fi stations. Therefore, more will be needed, not every 500 meters, but every 100 meters. In that Right now, phone manufacturers are already addressing the challenge of accommodating even more frequencies, faster processors, and powering them all on the same device so that battery life is not compromised, ”says one Telia expert.
[ad_2]
