Difference Between 1G and 2G

1G and 2G are the two generations of mobile phones. 1G is the first generation of mobile phones that brought first wireless communication to us. 1G uses an analog signal for communications and use FDMA for channelization. 1G is used for voice communication, data transmission service was not provided by 1G.

2G was digitalization of 1G i.e. it uses the digital signal for communication. 2G uses TDMA and CDMA for dividing the channels, and it provides voice plus data communication services. Lets us understand some more differences between 1G and 2G with the help of comparison chart shown below.

Content: 1G and 2G

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison	1G	2G
Voice signals	Analog	Digital
Channelization Protocol	FDMA	TDMA, CDMA
Standards	MTS, AMTS, IMTS.	GSM.
Switching	Circuit Switching.	Circuit Switching and Packet Switching.
Service	1G do not support data service.	2G do not support complex data like videos.
Communication	1G is first wireless communication.	2G is digitization of 1G.
Internet	1G do not provide the internet.	2G provides narrowband internet service.
Drawback	Limited channel capacity, large phone size, low voice quality and low battery life.	Lack of network ranges and slow data rate.

Definition of 1G

1G is the first generation of mobile phones which provides first wireless communication to the world. 1G uses the analog signal for voice communications. The 1G analog signal communication was introduced in the year 1980 and was used until it got replaced by 2G.

The method that 1G used for dividing the channel capacity is FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access). Each frequency retrieved using FDMA is used for the individual call. The switching used by 1g to allow voice communication is circuit switching.1G is built on the standards of MTS (Mobile Telephone System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone System).

1G do not allow data transmission; it was only comfortable in voice communication, which is one of the important drawbacks of 1G. The other drawbacks that were limited channel capacity, unsecured communication, poor voice quality, poor battery life, large size of 1G mobile phones. These drawbacks were kept in mind while introducing 2G mobile phones.

Definition of 2G

2G is the second generation mobile phone that was introduced to replace 1G mobile phones in the year 1993 at Finland. 2G has overcome many drawbacks of 1G mobile phones and also introduced some new features along with that. 2G mobile phones used the digital signal for communication. Along with voice communication 2G allows data communication.

To divide the channel capacity, the 2Gmobile phones uses TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) methods. The switching technique used by 2G mobile phones are Circuit Switching and Packet Switching. 2G mobile phone were built on the standards of GSM (Global System for Mobile communications).

The 2G mobile phone allows narrowband internet. The 2G mobile phone required the strong digital signal to get worked so if there was a lack of network range digital signal become weak resulting in a non-working condition of mobile phones.

The other disadvantage that came forward while using 2G is that it couldn’t handle the complex type of data like videos. So to overcome the drawbacks of 2G, 3G was introduced later.

Conclusion

1G is the first and the oldest generation of mobile phone which was later replaced by 2G. 2G is the advanced (digital) version of 1G and has overcome many of the disadvantages of 1G.