1G
Encyclopedia
1G refers to the first-generation of wireless
telephone
technology
, mobile
telecommunications. These are the analog
telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s and continued until being replaced by 2G
digital
telecommunications. The main difference between two succeeding mobile telephone systems, 1G and 2G
, is that the radio signals that 1G networks use are analog, while 2G networks are digital.
Although both systems use digital signaling to connect the radio towers (which listen to the handsets) to the rest of the telephone system, the voice itself during a call is encoded to digital signals in 2G whereas 1G is only modulated to higher frequency, typically 150 MHz and up.
One such standard is NMT
(Nordic Mobile Telephone), used in Nordic countries
, Switzerland
, Netherlands
, Eastern Europe
and Russia
. Others include AMPS
(Advanced Mobile Phone System) used in the North America
and Australia
, TACS (Total Access Communications System) in the United Kingdom
, C-450
in West Germany
, Portugal
and South Africa
, Radiocom 2000 in France
, and RTMI
in Italy
. In Japan
there were multiple systems. Three standards, TZ-801, TZ-802, and TZ-803 were developed by NTT, while a competing system operated by DDI used the JTACS (Japan Total Access Communications System) standard.
Antecedent to 1G technology is the mobile radio telephone, or 0G
.
) in 1979, initially in the metropolitan area of Tokyo.
Within five years, the NTT network had been expanded to cover the whole population of Japan and became the first nationwide 1G network.
In 1981, this was followed by the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. NMT was the first mobile phone network featuring international roaming. The first 1G network launched in the USA was Chicago-based Ameritech
in 1983 using the Motorola DynaTAC
mobile phone. Several countries then followed in the early-to-mid 1980s including the UK, Mexico and Canada. .
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, mobile
Mobile computing
Mobile computing is a form of human–computer interaction by which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage. Mobile computing has three aspects: mobile communication, mobile hardware, and mobile software...
telecommunications. These are the analog
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s and continued until being replaced by 2G
2G
2G is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991...
digital
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
telecommunications. The main difference between two succeeding mobile telephone systems, 1G and 2G
2G
2G is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991...
, is that the radio signals that 1G networks use are analog, while 2G networks are digital.
Although both systems use digital signaling to connect the radio towers (which listen to the handsets) to the rest of the telephone system, the voice itself during a call is encoded to digital signals in 2G whereas 1G is only modulated to higher frequency, typically 150 MHz and up.
One such standard is NMT
Nordic Mobile Telephone
NMT is the first fully automatic cellular phone system...
(Nordic Mobile Telephone), used in Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Others include AMPS
Advanced Mobile Phone System
Advanced Mobile Phone System was an analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs, and officially introduced in the Americas in 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s...
(Advanced Mobile Phone System) used in the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, TACS (Total Access Communications System) in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, C-450
C-Netz
The Radio Telephone Network C , was a first generation analog cellular phone system deployed and operated in Germany by DeTeMobil...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Radiocom 2000 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and RTMI
RTMI
RTMI was the first mobile communication service in Italy, started in 1973. It operated on the 160 MHz frequency band and was used by a few people working in the public sector...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
there were multiple systems. Three standards, TZ-801, TZ-802, and TZ-803 were developed by NTT, while a competing system operated by DDI used the JTACS (Japan Total Access Communications System) standard.
Antecedent to 1G technology is the mobile radio telephone, or 0G
0G
0G or 0-G may refer to:*0G, the mobile telephony standard for Mobile radio telephone*0-G, or Zero-gravity, also called Weightlessness*Zero G, absence of g-force**Zero-g roll, one of the common Roller coaster elements*Zero Gravity Corporation...
.
History
The first commercially automated cellular network (the 1G generation) was launched in Japan by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and TelephoneNippon Telegraph and Telephone
, commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked the 31st in Fortune Global 500, NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Asia, and the second-largest in the world in terms of revenue....
) in 1979, initially in the metropolitan area of Tokyo.
Within five years, the NTT network had been expanded to cover the whole population of Japan and became the first nationwide 1G network.
In 1981, this was followed by the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. NMT was the first mobile phone network featuring international roaming. The first 1G network launched in the USA was Chicago-based Ameritech
Ameritech
AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation , was a U.S. telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies that was created following the breakup of the Bell System...
in 1983 using the Motorola DynaTAC
Motorola DynaTAC
DynaTAC is a series of cellular telephones manufactured by Motorola, Inc. from 1983 to 1994. With several different models, plus newer models under the Classic and Ultra Classic names, it was the first line of cell phones commercially produced by Motorola, with the first member of the DynaTAC...
mobile phone. Several countries then followed in the early-to-mid 1980s including the UK, Mexico and Canada. .