NEXTTEL

New 3G telecom in Cameroon

What is 3G?

3G stands for Third Generation of wireless networks. 3G is the wireless network standard used in the iPhone 3G. It is called 3G because it is the third generation of cellular telecom standards.

3G is a faster network for phone and data transmission than EDGE, which was used in the original iPhone: 

EDGE: 1 Mbit/s download and 400 kbit/s upload
3G: 14.4 Mbit/s down and 5.8 Mbit/s up.

3G’s ability to handle more data makes it faster, but also improves the phone call sound quality. 4G stands for Fourth Generation of wireless networks. It comes as an improvement over 3G networks and may stand as a successor thereof. While 3G is a suite of several wireless network protocols, 4G is basically one protocol, called WiMAX. There is also the other standard called LTE Advanced, but WiMAX (technically termed 806.16m) is more common. For this reason, many people use 4G and WiMAX interchangeably. 4G standards are WAN standards, i.e. they offer connectivity to devices over a wide area. A 4G network can cover a whole city or country. WiMAX stands for WorldWide Interoperability for Microwave Access and is technically referred to by the IEEE as 802.16. WiMAX is also commonly termed 4G network. It is a wireless wide area network (WAN) that can cover what DSL lines can cover, but without wires. It can give Internet connectivity to computers in the way GSM has given phone connectivity to mobile phones and made them replace fixed landline phones.

Wired connectivity, like DSL, provides broadband access but besides being fixed, is expensive and does not reach certain areas. On the other side, Wi-Fi, the most common wireless technology, has very limited coverage and it is not always easy to find a Wi-Fi hotspot. WiMAX comes as a solution mid-way between these two: it provides high quality broadband access and has a very high penetrability, in that the microwaves it emits can be accessed at every nook and corner of its large coverage area.

WiMAX can give you connectivity in your desktop computer, laptop and even mobile device. For a simple scenario, you can connect to the Internet through your WiMAX connection at home, at work, in the park and even at the seaside, given that your WiMAX service provider's networks covers all these places. This said, you can even make cheap and free VoIP phone calls using a WiMAX enabled mobile phone, or simply your laptop computer.