Seminar Report On

3G VS WIFI
A Seminar Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the

Award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

IN

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

BY

Submitted
By:
1.L.TULASINAGABABU
(07A21A04D2)

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 index
S.NO CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1) Abstract 4

2) Introduction 5
3) 3G 6
4) Wifi 9
5) How They are Same 12
6) How they are Different 15
7) Over view 21
8) Conclusion 24
9) Bibliography 25

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 SWARNANDHRA
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
NARASAPUR-534280

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Certificate
This is to certify that the thesis entitled is the
“3G VS WIFI” Seminar Performed By
Mr…………………………………..Bearing

R.No:……….…….submitted in the partial fulfillment

of the requirement for the award of the degree of
technology in ECE during the academic year in
2011-2012.

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EXAMINER HEAD OF
THE DEPARTMENT

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Abstract:

The goal of this article is to compare and contrast two

technologies that are likely to play important roles: third-generation mobile (3G) and wireless
local area networks (WLAN).The former, 3G, refers to the collection of third generation mobile
technologies that are designed to allow mobile operators to offer integrated data and voice
services over mobile networks .The latter, WiFi, refers to the 802.11b wireless Ethernet standard
that was designed to support wireless LANs. Although the two technologies reflect
fundamentally different service,industry and architectural design goals, origins and philosophies,
each has recently attracted a lot of attention as candidates for the dominant platform for
providing broadband wireless access to the Internet. It remains an open question as to the extent
to which these two technologies are in competition or, perhaps, may be complementary
Here we compare and contrast two technologies that are likely to play
important roles: Third Generation mobile (“3G”) and Wireless Local Area Networks (“WLAN”).
The former represents a natural evolution and extension of the business models of existing
mobile providers. In contrast, the WiFi approach would leverage the large installed base of
WLAN infrastructure already in place. We use 3G and WiFi as shorthand for the broad classes of
related technologies that have two quiet distinct industry origins and histories. Speaking broadly,
3G offers a vertically –integrated , top –down , service –provider approach to delivering wireless
internet access , while WiFi offers an end –user–centric , decentralized approach to service
provisioning.

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 INTRODUCTION

The two most important phenomena impacting telecommunications over the past decade
have been explosive parallel growth of both the internet and mobile telephone services. The
internet brought the benefits of data communications to the masses with email, the web, and
ecommerce; while mobile service has enabled “follow-me anywhere/always on” telephony. The
internet helped accelerate the trend from voicecentric to data-centric networking. Data already
exceeds voice traffic and the data share continues to grow. Now these two worlds are
converging. This convergence offers the benefits of new interactive multimedia services coupled
to the flexibility and mobility of wireless. To realize the full potential of this convergence,
however, we need broadband access connections.

Here we compare and contrast two technologies that are likely to play important roles:
Third Generation mobile (“3G”) and Wireless Local Area Networks (“WLAN”). The former
represents a natural evolution and extension of the business models of existing mobile providers.
In contrast, the WiFi approach would leverage the large installed base of WLAN infrastructure
already in place. We use 3G and WiFi as shorthand for the broad classes of related technologies
that have two quiet distinct industry origins and histories.

Speaking broadly, 3G offers a vertically –integrated , top –down , service – provider

approach to delivering wireless internet access , while WiFi offers an end –user –centric ,
decentralized approach to service provisioning. We use these two technologies to focus our
speculations on the potential tensions between these two alternative world views. The wireless
future will include a mix of heterogenous wireless access technologies. Moreover, we expect that
the two world views will converge such that vertically-integrated service providers will integrate
WiFi or other WLAN technologies into their 3G or wire line infrastructure when this make
sense. The multiplicity of potential wireless access technologies and /or business models
provided some hope that we may be able to realize robust facilities – based competition for
broadband local access services. If this occurs, it would help solve the “last mile” competition
problem that hasBeen deviled telecommunication policy.

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CHAPTER1

3G

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 3G:
3G is a technology for mobile service providers. Mobile services are
provided by service providers that own and operate their own wireless networks and sell mobile
services to end-users usually on a monthly subscription basis. Mobile service providers10 use
licensed spectrum to provide wireless telephone coverage over some relatively large contiguous
geographic serving area. Historically, this might have included a metropolitan area. Today it may
include the entire country. From a user perspective, the key feature of mobile service is that it
offers (near) ubiquitous and continuous coverage. That is, a consumer can carry on a telephone
conversation while driving along a highway at 100 km/h. To support this service, mobile
operators maintain a network of interconnected and overlapping mobile base stations that hand-
off calls as those customers move among adjacent cells. Each mobile base station may support
users up to several kilometers away. The cell towers are connected to each other by a backhaul
network that also provides interconnection to the wireline public switched telecommunications
network (PSTN) and other services. The mobile system operator owns the end-to-end network
from the base stations to the backhaul network to the point of interconnection to the PSTN (and,
perhaps, parts thereof).
The first mobile services were analog. Although mobile services began
to emerge in the 1940s,the first mass-market mobile services in the US were based on the
advanced mobile phone service (AMPS) technology. This is what is commonly referred to as
first-generation (1G) wireless.11 In the 1990s, mobile services based on digital mobile
technologies ushered in the second generation (2G) of wireless that we have today. In the US,
these were referred to as personal communication systems (PCS)12 and used technologies such
as time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA) and global
system for mobile-communications (GSM). From 1995 to 1997, the FCC auctioned off PCS
spectrum licenses in the 1850–1990MHz band. CDMA and TDMA were deployed in various
parts of the US, while GSM was deployed as the common standard in Europe.13 The next
generation or 3G mobile technologies will support higher bandwidth digital communications and
are expected to be based on one of the several standards included under the International
Telecommunications Union (ITUs) IMT-2000 umbrella of 3G standards.

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 The chief focus of wireless mobile services has been voice
telephony. However, in recent years there has been growing interest in data services as well.
While data services are available over AMPS systems, these are limited to quite low data rates
(o10 kbps). Higher speed data and other advanced telephone services are more readily supported
over the digital 2G systems. The 2G systems also support larger numbers of subscribers and so
helped alleviate the capacity problems faced by older AMPS systems. Nevertheless, the data
rates supportable over 2G systems are still quite limited, offering only between 10 and 20 kbps

To expand the range and capability of dataservices that can be supported by

digital mobile systems, service providers will have to upgrade their networks to one of the 3G
technologies. These can support data rates from 384 kbps up to 2 Mbps, although most
commercial deployments are expected to offer data rates closer to 100 kbps in practice

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CHAPTER -2

WIFI

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WIFI

Wi-Fi or Wireless Fidelity is an established world-wide networking

standard which incorporates the use of radio waves to link computers and other network devices
together WiFi is the popular name for the wireless Ethernet 802.11b standard for WLANs.
Wireline local area networks (LANs) emerged in the early 1980s as a way to allow collections of
PCs, terminals, and other distributed computing devices to share resources and peripherals such
as printers, access servers, or shared storage devices. One of the most popular LAN technologies
was Ethernet. Over the years, the IEEE has approved a succession of Ethernet standards to
support higher capacity LANs over a diverse array of media. The 802.11x family of Ethernet
standards are for wireless LANs.16 WiFi LANs operate using unlicensed spectrum in the
2.4GHz band.17 The current generation of WLANs support up to 11 Mbps data rates within
100m of the base station.18 Most typically, WLANs are deployed in a distributed way to offer
last-hundred-meter connectivity to a wireline backbone corporate or campus network. Typically,
the WLANs are implemented as part of a private network. The base station equipment is owned
and operated by the end-user community as part of the corporate enterprise, campus, or
government network. In most cases, use of the network is free to the end-users (that is, it is
subsidized by the community as a cost of doing business, like corporate employee telephones).

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 Although each base station can support connections only over a range of
a hundred meters,it is possible to provide contiguous coverage over a wider area by using
multiple base stations.A number of corporate business and university campuses have deployed
such contiguous WLANs. Still, the WLAN technology was not designed to support high-speed
hand-off associated with users moving between base station coverage areas (i.e., the problem
addressed by mobile systems).
In contrast to mobile, WLANs were principally focused on supporting
data communications.However, with the growing interest in supporting real-time services such
as voice and video over IP networks, it is possible to support voice telephony services over
WLANs.

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 CHAPTER -3
HOW THEY ARE SAME

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 1.Both are wireless

Both technologies are wireless, which

(1) avoids the need to install cable drops to each device when compared to wireline alternatives
and
(2) facilitates mobility
Wireless infrastructure may be deployed more rapidly than wireline alternatives
to respond to new market opportunities or changing demand. Wireless technologies also
facilitate mobility. This includes both
(1) the ability to move devices around without having to move cables and furniture and
(2) the ability to stay continuously connected over wider serving areas.
3G offers much narrower bandwidth but over a wider covering area and
with more support for rapid movement between base stations. Although it is possible to cover a
wide area with WiFi , it is most commonly deployed in a local area with one or a few base
stations being managed as a separate WLAN .

This has implications for the magnitude of initial investment required to bring up WLAN
or 3G wireless service .It is unclear at this time which type of network might be lower cost for
equivalent scale deployments.

2.Both are access technologies

Both technologies are access technologies, Both 3G and WiFi are access or edge-network
technologies. This means they offer alternatives to the last-kilometer wireline network. Beyond
the last kilometer, both rely on similar network connections and transmission support
infrastructure.

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 For 3G, the wireless link is from the enduser device to the cell base station which
may be at a distance of up to a few kilometers, Although 3G is conceived of as an end-to-end
service, it is possible to view it as an access service.
For WiFi, the wireless link is a hundred meters from the end-user device to the
base station.21 .The base station is then connected either into the wireline LAN or enterprise
network infrastructure or to a wireline access line to a carrier’s backbone network and then
eventually to the Internet.

3.Both offer broadband data service

Both 3G and WiFi support broadband data service,

although as noted earlier, the data rate offered by WiFi (11 Mbps) is substantially higher than the
couple of 100 kbps expected from 3G services. Although future generations of wireless mobile
technology will support higher speeds, this will also be the case for WLANs, and neither will be
likely to compete with wireline speeds (except over quite short distances).The key is that both
will offer sufficient bandwidth to support a comparable array of services,including real-time
voice, data, and streaming media, that are not currently easily supported over narrowband
wireline services.
Both services will also support ‘‘always on’’ connectivity which is another very
important aspect of broadband service. Indeed, some analysts believe this is even more important
than the raw throughput supported.

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 CHAPTER -4
HOW THEY ARE DIFFERENT

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 1.Current business models/deployment are different

3G represents an extension of the mobile service-provider

model. This is the technology of choice for upgrading existing mobile telephone services to
expand capacity and add enhanced services. The basic business model is the telecommunications
services model in which service providers own and manage the infrastructure.
Incontrast,WiFi comes out of the data
communications industry (LANs) which is a byproduct of the computer industry. The basic
business model is one of equipment makers who sell boxes to consumers
With respect to deployment, 3G will require
substantial investment in new infrastructure to upgrade existing 2G networks. For WiFi , it is
hoped that deployment can piggy-back on the large existing base of WLAN equipment already in
the field . In both the cases, end – user will need to buy suitable interface devices (PC cords for
3G or WiFi access) .

The prevailing business model for 3G services and infrastructure is vertically integrated,
this need not be the case for WiFi .

2. Spectrum policy and management

One of the key distinctions between 3G and WiFi that we have only touched upon lightly thus
far is that 3G and other mobile technologies use licensed spectrum, while WiFi uses unlicensed
shared spectrum. This has important implications for
(1) cost of service,
(2) quality of service (QoS) and congestion management, and
(3) industry structure.

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 First, the upfront cost of acquiring a spectrum license represents a
substantial share of the capital costs of deploying 3G services. This cost is not faced by WiFi
which uses the shared 2.4GHz unlicensed, shared spectrum

Second, while licensed spectrum is expensive, it does have the

advantage of facilitating QoS management. With licensed spectrum, the licensee is protected
from interference from other service providers. In contrast, the unlicensed spectrum used by
WiFi imposes strict power limits on users (i.e.,responsibility not to interfere with other users)
and forces users to accept interference from others

Third, the different spectrum regimes have direct implications for industry structure.
For example, the FreeNet movement is not easily conceivable in the 3G world of licensed
spectrum.Alternatively, it seems that the current licensing regime favors incumbency and,
because it raises entry barriers, may make wireless-facilities-based competition less feasible

3.Status of technology development

The two technologies differ with respect to their stage of development in a number of
ways. While 3G licenses have been awarded in a number of markets at a cost of billions of
dollars to the licensees, it has only limited progress with respect to service deployment. In
contrast, we have a large installed base of WiFi networking equipment that is growing rapidly.

3.1Embedded support for services

Another important difference between 3G and WiFi is their embedded support for
voice services. 3G was expressly designed as an upgrade technology for wireless voice telephony
networks, so voice services are an intrinsic part of 3G. In contrast, WiFi provides a lower layer
data communications service that can be used as the substrate on which to layer services such as

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voice telephony. For example, with IP running over WiFi it is possible to support voice-over-IP
telephony. However, there is still great market uncertainty as to how voice services would be
implemented and quality assured over WLAN networks.

3.2 SECURITY

Another potential advantage of 3G over WiFi is that 3G offers better

support for secure/private communications than does WiFi Although wireless communications
may pose higher risks to privacy (e.g., follow-me anywhere tracking capabilities) and security
(i.e., passive monitoring of RF transmissions is easier) than do wireline networks, we do not
believe that this is likely to be a long-term differentiating factor between 3G and WiFi
technologies.
Protecting your data over a wireless network is important to businesses and home
users alike. It is important to ALWAYS setup your wireless connection with some level of
protection. The most common security is WEP (Wired Equivalent Protocol) and allows a user to
set a password of different lengths to secure your network. It adds some security, but a savvy
hacker can easily break the encryption. As a result, WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) was created
and offers a higher level of security than WEP by combining authentication and encryption.
Regardless of the security you choose, remember all of the computers must use the same
password or pre-shared key to be on the network.

3.3 Standardization

It is also possible to compare the two technologies with respect to the

extent to which they are standardized. Broadly, it appears that the formal standards picture for
3G is perhaps more clear than for WLAN. For 3G, there is a relatively small family of
internationally sanctioned standards, collectively referred to as IMT-2000.

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 In contrast, WiFi is one of the family of continuously evolving 802.11x
wireless Ethernet standards, which is itself one of many WLAN technologies that are under
development.

4.Service/business model

3G is more developed than WiFi as a business and service model. It

represents an extension of the existing service-provider industry to new services, and as such,
does not represent a radical departure from underlying industry structure. The key market
uncertainties and portions of the valuation that remain u ndeveloped are the upstream equipment
and application/content supplier markets and ultimate consumer demand
In contrast, WiFi is more developed with respect to the upstream supplier
markets, at least with respect to WLAN equipment which has become commoditized.37
Moreover, consumer demand— certainly business demand and increasingly residential
broadband home user demand—for WLAN equipment is also well established. However,
commercialization of WiFi services as an access service is still in its early stages with the
emergence of Boingo and others.

5.SPEED

Datarate supported by 3G

The data rates supported by 3G are:

• 2Mbps ( Indoors, Max. speed up-to 10 km/h)
• 384 Kbps (sub urban, Max. speed up-to 120 km/h)
• 144 Kbps (Rural, Max. speed up-to 500 km/h)

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Datarate supported by Wifi

Wifi can provide datarate upto 54mbps.

Wi-Fi provides the better datarate at a lower price as compare to 3G.

6.ADVANTAGES

.
Each of the technologies has distinct advantages over the other that
would allow each to offer higher quality services under disparate conditions. Putting the two
together would allow a serviceprovider to offer a wider set of more valuable services

SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR INDUSTRY STRUCTURE AND

PUBLIC POLICY

1. WiFi is good for competition

2. WiFi and 3G can compliment each other for a mobile provider.

3. Policy is key.

4. Spectrum Success of WiFi is potentially good for multimedia content.

5. Technical progress favors heterogeneous future

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CHAPTER-5
OVER-VIEW

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OVER VIEW

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What can you do with WIFI

1. Quick/easy temp network access

2. Staff access to Corporate network
3.Patron internet access (hotspot)
4.Interconnecting two networks
5.Allows you to instantly create a home or office network without running cables
6.Allows you to share high-speed Internet wirelessly
7.Listen to streaming audio and view video
8.Synchronize and uplink mobile devices

What can you do with 3G

1.Wireless Internet
2.Audio on demand
3.Electronic postcards (incl video clips)
4.Video conferencing
5.Secure mobile commerce transactions
6.Traffic and travelling information -
location specific

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 CONCLUSION
This article offers a qualitative comparision of two wireless technologies that can be
viewed simultaneously as substitute and / or complimentary paths for evolving to broad band
wireless access. The two technologies are 3G , which is the preferred upgrade path for mobile
providers , and WiFi , one of the many WLAN technologies. The goal of the analysis is to
explore two divergent world views for the future of wireless access and to speculate on the likely
success and possible interactions between the two technologies in the future. First, both
technologies are likely to succeed in the market place. This means that the wireless future will
include heterogeneous access technologies. Second we expect 3G mobile providers to integrate
WiFi technology into their networks thus expecting these two technologies to be complimentary
in their successful mass market deployment .Third, we also expect WiFi to offer competition to
3G providers because of the lower enter costs associated with establishing WiFi networks. This
may take form of new type of service providers (e.g.,Boingo) , in end- user organized networks
(e.g.,

FreeNet aggregation). The threat of such WiFi competition is beneficial to prospects for
the future of last mile competition.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

This section gives yo the name of the books refered and websites
surfed required for this Seminar report.

Urls Surfed……………………………

1.www.google.com

2.www.scribd.com

3.www.101 seminartopics.com

4.www.wikipedia.org

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