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© William Hook

The main communications regulator in the UK has come up with a novel approach to clearing 3G technology congestion. They plan to use part of the current TV spectrum which is going unused to improve the operation of mobile broadband service. This spectrum, known as white space, will help to clear the high levels of congestion on some UK 3G networks.

These networks have failed to keep up with the huge consumer demand for mobile broadband services for both business and consumer use. Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, will be deploying white space to help consumers, enterprises and those in rural areas to enjoy faster broadband access. Ofcom is basing their development of white space on the WiFi deployment model in the UK. They note that it has the potential to offer much greater capacity to homes and businesses than WiFi, as well as being easy to extend to rural areas.

© Dev.Arka

Inmates in state prisons in Jaipur, India have reportedly upgraded to 3G technology which makes it easier for them to stay connected via mobile phone to the outside world. The state jails have been using jammers to try to disrupt these mobile connections, but the jammers have failed to even detect 2G frequencies let alone 3G ones so they are not an ideal solution.

The frequent use of 3G cell phones in state prisons has become a focus of political pressure as so far the jails have failed to find effective ways of limiting this use. It has come to light that many prisoners were using video chat to coordinate criminal activities on the streets from their jail cells. The existing jammers cannot detect 3G frequencies without being upgraded via an attachment, and the state prisons are currently in talks with the supplier to find ways of improving their operations.

© liewcf

3G technology in India is likely to grow in tandem with 4G technology. Analysts expect 4G technology to be a huge leap forward in the evolution of wireless broadband which will be based on a core of 2G and 3G networks. For this reason it's unlikely that 4G will have a significant negative impact on 3G business.

It is possible for both $G and 3G to successfully coexist and grow in tandem in India, as 4G will prove to be a great complement to 3G data services. For example, the Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson is currently working with a variety of Indian players on the development of LTE technology, and has already been running field tests of 4G LTE mobile service in India via a partnership with Qualcomm and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).