Evolution to 3G

The Evolution to 3G describes the updating of mobile telecommunications networks around the world to use new 3G technology. This process is taking place over the period 1999 to 2010.

Operators and UMTS networks

As of December 2003, the evolution of the 3G networks has been on its way for a couple of years now. The main reasons for these changes are basically the limited capacity of the existing 2G networks. The second generation of networks were built mainly for telephone calls and slow data transmission. Due to the rapid changes in technology, these factors do not meet the requirements of today's wireless revolution. The developments of so-called "2.5G" technologies such as HSCSD and GPRS have been ways of postponing the oncoming change to 3G networks, but are not permanent solutions. They are merely stepping stones towards the new technology. These stepping stones were built to introduce the possibilities on the future wireless application technology to the end consumers. These procedures are necessary to ensure that the operators and the infrastructure itself have a healthy ground to operate on.

The evolution on networks from the second generation of technology to the third generation technology could not be done without the help of operators. There are about 23 networks worldwide that operate on 3G technology. Some of these networks are only for test use but some are already in consumer based use.

Basically network operators need to find the many answers to three questions before they can start operating in the new field. What are the things to take into consideration during the change? How to manage the change? What will the future role be for the network operators?

Network operators have invested huge amounts on money into existing 2G networks. These networks have been around only for 10-15 years, and the investments made have not all paid off. Network operators need to find out ways of reusing their investments to build the 3G network. Because of the financial situation of the world today, network operators do not have new resources to invest into the future. They must recycle the old ones first.

Another thing network operators need to understand is that in the future their roles as we see today will change dramatically. In the future they will not only be network providers, they will be service providers. Network operators need to differentiate themselves in the markets, and one way is to concentrate on the content of the service and products. It is widely believed that in the future the markets will consist of content oriented service providers, since 3G technology allows any one willing to build software and sell it directly to end consumers. Thus network operators need to adapt to this change too.

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