2G vs EDGE vs 3G

gropingmantis

gropingmantis

gropingmantis

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5 Dec 2010
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Is there any difference between them If I am not using the internet?

I am thinking about things like better security, better signal strength, better coverage etc etc. That kind of thing.
 
I've only seen 2G and 3/3.5G on my phone, edge is a little Rarer, isn't it connected to the 2G's or is it a separate network. GPRS on android is terrible.
 
Ok awesome. Thanks for the info. I have seen EDGE but only in a few select places. EDGE is basically to 3G what LTE is to 4G. Almost there but not quite.

But if 2G is better for voice only then that will save me a tonne of money.
Thanks.
 
Some things above aren't really true so to clarify (this is from a technical POV):

2G:
General characteristics are coverage stays the same no matter what, calls/data limited to "slots" on a cell site, encryption is good but not great (nothing to worry about from your pov).
Data is limited to GPRS speeds, averages at about 30kbps
Calls are either Full Rate or Half Rate. Half Rate sounds terrible but works in high density areas (think concerts, high pop attractions, sites that have extreme density sways like convent garden) and uses just over half the rate of a full call allowing us to pack more simultaneous calls into one site.

EDGE:
General Characteristic is that it's 2G based but sort of overclocked. Data is low latancy compared to GPRS and can sometimes beat 3G in newer variants.
Data speeds around 100kbps, can be higher but depends on other factors.

3G:
General characteristic is cell sites can suffer shrinkage due to over-population, signal does not go as far (power depending) as 2G. More simultaneous connections possible due to the way it works, security is stronger than 2G.
Calls in general are better on 3G due to the codec used (Adaptive Multi Rate). Orange support "HD" calls as long as phones both support "Wideband Adaptive Multi Rate" then you'll get "HD" calls which are double or higher in terms of bandwidth and therefore, quality.
Data comes in standard 3G, HSxPA and HSPA+ speeds which vary from 0.5Mbit to 7Mbit (useable, the specs are hilariously untrue perfect scenarios).

Modern 3G chipsets don't use that much more power than 2G, this is an old myth.
 
Myshra said:
Some things above aren't really true so to clarify (this is from a technical POV):

2G:
General characteristics are coverage stays the same no matter what, calls/data limited to "slots" on a cell site, encryption is good but not great (nothing to worry about from your pov).
Data is limited to GPRS speeds, averages at about 30kbps
Calls are either Full Rate or Half Rate. Half Rate sounds terrible but works in high density areas (think concerts, high pop attractions, sites that have extreme density sways like convent garden) and uses just over half the rate of a full call allowing us to pack more simultaneous calls into one site.

EDGE:
General Characteristic is that it's 2G based but sort of overclocked. Data is low latancy compared to GPRS and can sometimes beat 3G in newer variants.
Data speeds around 100kbps, can be higher but depends on other factors.

3G:
General characteristic is cell sites can suffer shrinkage due to over-population, signal does not go as far (power depending) as 2G. More simultaneous connections possible due to the way it works, security is stronger than 2G.
Calls in general are better on 3G due to the codec used (Adaptive Multi Rate). Orange support "HD" calls as long as phones both support "Wideband Adaptive Multi Rate" then you'll get "HD" calls which are double or higher in terms of bandwidth and therefore, quality.
Data comes in standard 3G, HSxPA and HSPA+ speeds which vary from 0.5Mbit to 7Mbit (useable, the specs are hilariously untrue perfect scenarios).

Modern 3G chipsets don't use that much more power than 2G, this is an old myth.
Click to expand...

Very very informative post there. Thankyou. So the way I read that is that the only thing I would miss for voice only with only 2G/EDGE over 3G enabled phones is the ability to do "HD" voice calls that are only avalible on a few phones and networks anyway but using 2G-only I get better battery (maginally), better coverage in busy areas and better signal strength.

Sounds good to me.
 
Myshra said:
Modern 3G chipsets don't use that much more power than 2G, this is an old myth.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't say its an old myth, been playing with a fair few phones lately trying to find something to replace my original Xperia X1 and theres a good ~30% difference in battery life between using only 2G and leaving it in auto on most of them - my X1 also sees a big difference in battery life when I'm mostly in a 2G area compared to when I'm in high speed network areas.
 
The bigger issue is 2G is not being used for future network expansion by any network so as time goes on your potential signal base will degrade as sites are switched about. It's also inefficient technically, you'd be better off sending a burst of 3G speed than a slow amount of 2G due to one being upto x100 in speed of the other (30kbps GPRS vs 3Mbit HSDPA) but this last point is nulled out if you don't use data much.

I guess it depends, the network engineer in me will always say you should leave it on multimode as this gives the best coverage (data or not) for <20% loss in battery power. The X1 is an old device now , gains have been made in low power radio controller designs and more modern devices should fair better.

The reason for "UMTS power vamp" as my friend loves to call it is because 2G basically has a special channel it listens to for networky stuff like incoming/outgoing calls, SMS etc... but because 2G works in timeslots (in distinct intervals) it knows it only has to listen to 1 out of 8 timeslots and even then, it has the option to ignore them (sort of, it's technical). The radios turn themselves off in between timeslots to gain efficiency, a sort of L3 sleep so to speak.

UMTS towers on the other hand broadcasts all of the time, 24/7 and the phones use crazy clever math to work out if the tower was talking to them or not. As this means it has to receive more (and therefore decode more) it takes more power.

If you pretend networks are like a group of children (handsets) sitting in a circle with a teacher (base station) then 2G is like the teacher whispering something to the child sat next to her, 3G is like the teacher shouting at the whole room but only you understand the language she's shouting in.
 
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