What is spectrum? Radio spectrum refers to a range of radio frequencies.

The bandwidth of a radio signal is the difference between the upper and lower frequencies of the signal. Where was 3G spectrum first introduced? Japan was the first country to introduce 3G on a large commercial scale. In 2005, about 40 per cent of subscribers used only 3G networks. It is expected that during 2006 the subscribers would move from 2G to 3G and upgrade to the next 3.5 G level.

The success of 3G in Japan also shows that video telephony was the killer application for 3G networks. Downloading music was the biggest draw in 3G services

How is 3G different from 2G and 4G? While 2G stands for second-generation wireless telephone technology, 1G networks used are analog, 2G networks are digital and 3G (third-generation) technology is used to enhance mobile phone standards. 3G helps to simultaneously transfer both voice data (a telephone call) and non-voice data (such as downloading information, exchanging e-mail, and instant messaging. The highlight of 3G is video telephony. 4G technology stands to be the future standard of wireless devices. Currently, Japanese company NTT DoCoMo and Samsung are testing 4G communication.

3G refers to the third generation of mobile telephony (that is, cellular) technology. The third generation, as the name suggests, follows two earlier generations. The first generation (1G) began in the early 80's with commercial deployment of Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) cellular networks. The second generation (2G) emerged in the 90's when mobile operators deployed two competing digital voice standards. In North America, some operators adopted IS-95, which used Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to multiplex up to 64 calls per channel in the 800 MHz band. Across the world, many operators adopted the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) standard, which used Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) to multiplex up to 8 calls per channel in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands. GPRS deployments began in 2000, followed by EDGE in 2003. While these technologies are defined by IMT-2000, they are sometimes called "2.5G" because they did not offer multimegabit data rates

How will 3G services help you? 3G services will enable video broadcast and data-intensive services such as stock transactions, e-learning and telemedicine through wireless communications All telecom operators are waiting to launch 3G in India to cash in on revenues by providing highend services to customers, which are voice data and video enabled. India lags behind many Asian countries in introducing 3G services.

History
The first pre-commercial 3G network was launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan, branded as FOMA. It was first available in May 2001 as a pre-release (test) of W-CDMA technology.[8] The first commercial launch of 3G was also by NTT DoCoMo in Japan on 1 October 2001, although it was initially somewhat limited in scope;[9][10] broader availability of the system was delayed by apparent concerns over its reliability

11 December 2008, India entered the 3G arena with the launch of 3G enabled Mobile and Data services by Government owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd MTNL in Delhi and later in Mumbai.MTNL becomes the first 3G Mobile service provider in India. After MTNL, another state operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL)launched 3G services on 22 Feb 2009 in Chennai and later launched 3G as Nationwide. The auction of 3G wireless spectrum was announced in April 2010 and 3G Spectrum allocated to all private operators on 1 September 2010. The first Private-sector service provider that launched 3G services is Tata DoCoMo, on November 5, 2010. All the operators provide 3G services on the 2100 MHz band. As of now, the Government owned BSNL is the most successful company with the subscribers of 3G service. It has more than 3 million subscribers of its 3G service. It also has the widest coverage with around 826 cities across the country. The 3G service is used by the minority users in the country who own 3G handsets and the prices of the 3G services are currently out of reach of the pockets of most Indians. This led to the slow adoption of 3G. but the scenario is changing quickly with the introduction of cheap 3G handsets