4G- A NEW ERA IN WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION

4G- A NEW ERA IN WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION

                                                           

ABSTRACT

4G – “connect anytime, anywhere, anyhow” promising ubiquitous network access at high speed to the end users, has been a topic of great interest especially for the wireless telecom industry. 4G seems to be the solution for the growing user requirements of wireless broadband access and the limitations of the existing wireless communication system. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the different aspects of 4G which includes its features, its proposed architecture and key technological enablers. It also elaborates on the roadblocks in its implementations. A special consideration has been given to the security concerns of 4G by discussing a security threat analysis model   proposed   by   International   Telecommunication Union (ITU). By applying this model, a detailed analysis of threats to 4G and the corresponding measures to counter them can be performed.

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 INTRODUCTION

Wireless telecommunication history can be classified into different generations of network. Each generation has been a giant stride which revolutionized the field of mobile communication. As discussed in paper , era of telecommunication started with 1G in 1980 where all the systems where based on analog radio signal technology. Voice was considered to be the main traffic. Various 1G standards defined were Advance Mobile Phone System (AMPS), Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA). In 1990, 1G was replaced by 2G which provided rich set of services such as high voice quality and global   mobility   based   on   the   digital   radio   signal technology.  Here also voice was considered to be the main traffic. 2G includes standards such as Global System For Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio System (GPRS). Both 1G and  2G are  based  on  circuit- switched technology for data communication at low speed.

2G was a huge success.

2G was followed by 2.5G which is an intermitent between 2G and 3G. It is based on both circuit switched and packet switched technologies providing high data rate with low power consumption. It uses the infrastructure of Global  System  for  Mobile  communications  (GSM)  and Code division multiple access (CDMA) to provide its services.

In the present generation, 2.5G is replaced by 3G which includes standards from 2.5G and also some other technologies such as Wi-MAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). It is totally based on the packet switching technology providing broad range of high quality services to the end user to meet the demand of high data rate  and  increasing  rate  of  network  users.  But  3G  was unable to repeat the success story of 2G as it provided only few new features over 2G.

Before 3G was deployed all over the world, the idea of technology beyond 3G started evolving. This idea was beyond the imagination of ordinary mobile user promising “connect anytime, anyhow, anywhere”. This ubiquitous network access will be achieved by seamlessly integrating the available and new networks using a core IP based network layer. This vision is called as the 4th generation of Communication (4G).

The   paper   introduces   the   idea   behind   4G providing a brief overview about its features, architecture and challenges faced in its implementation. Security being a primary concern in any implementation; it motivates the discussion about threat analysis model. Section 2 cites an example of how an ideal wireless communication network should provide service to the end user. Motivation behind 4G and  its  features  are  covered  in  Section  3.   Proposed  architecture for 4G and key technologies enabling 4G are discussed in Section 4 and 5 respectively. Section 6 covers the challenges in the migration to 4G while section 7 elucidates the threat analysis model which can be used as a base for the future research work in 4G security. Current developments and future work to be done in 4G are covered in Section 8.   Section 9 briefs up the conclusion of the paper and Section 10 enlist all the references of the research papers.

     

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CONCLUSION

The advent of 4G is sure to revolutionize the field of telecommunication domain bringing the wireless experience to a  completely new level. It  would provide wealth of features and services making the world a smaller place to live. Thus, 4G seems to have the capability to realize the scenario discussed in Section 2. But 4G should also take lesson from the 3G’s failure to capture the imagination of the end-users. Technology should not be developed for technology’s sake rather it should target the end user. Thus, user-centric approach towards 4G’s development is the key to its success. Common consensus on the standards and the technologies for 4G needs to be reached to fasten 4G’s deployment which would be a gradual process. Lot of research work is required to investigate the open issues like design for SDR, QoS parameters   and   so   forth.   The   threat   analysis   model provided by ITU is very apt for the complete analysis and planning for security of 4G. It can be used as a reference framework for future research. But still comprehensive research work is required in the field of network security to tackle potential security threats because a ubiquitous “secured” heterogeneous network will appeal more to the today’s consumers.