5 Ways 4G Will Change Your Life
Call it 4G insanity. It's the ceaseless stream of wireless
and smartphone commercials that you see online and on TV. Those ads tout the
magical properties of this newest wireless network, one that promises to do
everything but sweep your floors and cook dinner. They say – these service
providers and carriers – that 4G is about to change your life.
A lot of the hype is marketing nonsense, of course, but once
you investigate beyond the ads, you'll see that 4G really does have the power
to alter aspects of your life.
What is 4G, exactly? Well, it's the latest incarnation (the
fourth generation, thus the 4 and the G) of the networks that make cell phones
work. In the 1980s and '90s, 1G and 2G networks mostly handled voice and simple
digital data. In the 2000s, 3G marked the beginning of mobile Internet access.
Now comes 4G. There's no agreed upon standard for 4G, and
wireless companies stretch the term for all it's worth. But in short, any
network that's substantially faster than 3G is fair game for the 4G label. That
includes upgraded 3G networks as well as fresh networks, like 4G LTE (Long Term
Evolution), built for zippy speeds that'll keep them relevant for years to
come.
4G networks offer faster service and can provide
smartphone-sizzling speeds to many users at the same time. Those capabilities
open up a new horizon of opportunities for all sorts of novel wireless applications
that might simplify our lives, keep us better connected and yes, perhaps even
change the way we work and play. And this massive evolutionary leap into 4G is
just now getting underway.
5: Go, Go Video
Sure, right now you can use your 3G phone for video calls,
YouTube clips and sometimes even streaming live TV. But when network congestion
is high, that video stutters, skips and becomes generally unwatchable.
4G will be a lot faster, and those speed increases are
necessary. With data traffic expected to explode by 33 times before 2020, older
networks will be strained to the breaking point [source: 3GPP]. More and more
people using video will bog down networks further.
4G isn't the cure-all for every video scenario. For example,
you probably won't be watching high-definition live sports on a mobile device
anytime in the next few years. But when it comes to standard definition, 4G
should offer a big improvement over 3G, which, although fast, rarely tops more
than 1.5 mbps (megabits-per-second) at peak hours [source: Salon].
Improved 4G networks, however, could provide you with an
average of 10 to 20 mbps, according to Richard Karpinksi, senior mobility
analyst at Yankee Group. That's faster than the speeds many people get through
their hardwired home computers connected to cable modems and DSL.
So those futuristic video calls you used to see on TV shows
and movies? Yeah, those are coming, and soon, thanks to 4G. Throw in other
video applications of all kinds, and your smartphone will be a hub for video
that fits right in your pocket.
4: The Anywhere
Office
OK, we don't really want to bring the idea of work into a
story about the fun offered by 4G, but the power of 4G is already being
harnessed by all sorts of businesses.
For years now, you've heard more about telecommuting and
what's called the mobile office. Since 2005, for example, in the United States
there's been a 74 percent increase in the number of people who work from home
at least one day per month. What's more, 40 percent of Americans have jobs that
could be performed at home [source: Telework].
Businesses now rely on wireless. In fact, 96 percent of
small businesses use wireless devices, and 63 percent say they couldn't survive
without their ubiquitous connections [Source: AT&T].
3G made it a gamble to access files several megabytes in
size. Sharing a video, blueprint or normal word processing document turned into
a hit-or-miss proposition. On deadline and away from your office Internet
connection? How about a palpable sense of panic to go with that timeout error?
4G is a big part of the mobile office equation. Now,
graphics, video clips and presentations loaded with all sorts of multimedia are
accessible via a smartphone or tablet. Even at hours when network traffic is
exceedingly high, you'll still be able to send and receive data reliably, for
pleasure and for less fun activities.
3: Music in the
Cloud, Clear and Loud
Right now all sorts of programs, applications and data are
stored to the cloud, hosted on multiple, Internet-connected servers. To access
your goodies, you simply have to remember your login name and password. Oh, and
of course, you need Internet access. And for streaming music, video and other
staples of a multimedia dinner, you need a fast, dependable connection.
A lickety-split connection is even more indispensable when
it comes to streaming audio from services such as Pandora, Spotify, Amazon
Cloud Drive, iCloud and Google Music. All of these companies let you stream
thousands of songs from their servers to your mobile device, no matter where
you might be.
That flexibility of availability is a wonderful thing -- how
cool would it be to blast music from the soundtrack of "Raiders of the
Lost Ark" while you're spelunking in Carlsbad Caverns? The awesomeness
would be unmatched, but that dream is unlikely to happen without a great 4G
connection.
After you find a 4G signal, streaming should be a snap. The
only real challenge might be your data transfer limits. As more and more users
jump to 4G, expect providers to cap (or charge exorbitantly for) very high data
usage.
2: The Internet of
Things
As 4G networks spread, get ready to see and hear this
phrase, "The Internet of Things," over and over again. It basically
refers to the idea of everyone and everything (from milk cartons to cows)
having embedded chips that identify and connect them to the Internet.
The applications of this kind of data are endless. Your
alarm clock, for instance, could become a more intelligent and useful device.
Connected to the Internet, it knows when the roads are icy and that you'll need
extra time to make the commute, so it wakes you up earlier. It also starts your
car to make sure the windows are ice-free in time for your departure. You can
see a whole range of other possibilities in this Cisco infographic.
The Internet of Things is also sometimes called
machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Like your fancy alarm clock, it enables
all sorts of automated technological tricks. Your prescription bottle knows
it's almost empty, so it calls in refills without your help. You could track
down stolen items -- anything, really -- no matter where a thief takes your
stuff. Health tags can monitor your vital signs and send critical information
straight to your nurse for evaluation.
But with everything from cows to milk emitting data at all
times, networks will need to accommodate a ceaseless flow of wireless traffic.
3G networks won't be able to handle the burden, but the increased capacity of
4G can.
1: Multimedia Madness
With 4G, mobile social media, video calls and gaming will
accelerate to Mach speeds. That's in large part due to the increased capacity
and reduced latency of 4G.
A single 3G base station lets only a few dozen people work
at 3G-like speeds. However, 4G networks allow more people -- sometimes hundreds
-- to simultaneously access and share a delicious 4G connection. That higher
capacity means more people can put video uploading and video conferencing to
use at the same time.
Equally important is the lower latency (or delay) in 4G. 3G
networks often have delays of 100ms (milliseconds) or so. But there's no
noticeable delay at all in 4G, which features latency of only around 20ms
[source: Telecoms].
Lower latency is critical for video conferencing calls. When
there are any delays whatsoever, people wind up talking over each other and
basically get frustrated with the experience. The same goes for fast-paced,
multi-player online gaming. If you're playing the latest war title, you can't
afford any lag time in your reactions, lest you accidentally jump onto a
grenade instead of away from it. Faster 4G means accurate response times and,
of course, bragging rights to higher scores.
Whether you're blowing up online bunkers or just want to
have a nice video chat with your grandma, you need speedy wireless. 3G, we
hardly knew ye. But no one will shed tears for that archaic network technology.
Instead, they'll weep for joy at the wonderful ways that 4G helps them maximize
their mobile Internet experience.
