2G network will be eliminated by history. How long can the first generation iPhone survive?

At present, 4G LTE networks have been developing in great strides, and many operators and manufacturers have been making early arrangements for the upcoming 5G network. The media has long said that 2G will be shut down in the future, and now this era has finally arrived. According to foreign media reports, the US operator AT&T announced yesterday that it had shut down the 2G network on January 1 this year. The shutdown of the 2G network means that all 2G mobile phones will not be able to be used normally, including the first generation iPhone, which is said to have rewritten the history of mobile phones.

Updating communication technology

The first generation of mobile communication technology, or 1G technology, is represented by the mobile phone, which uses analog signals. Such analog communication has many disadvantages, such as weak confidentiality, limited system capacity, and inability to transmit data. Speaking of analog signals, I think of the analog signal TV receivers of my childhood, which often had channel jams. 1G also had the same defect, and serial numbers had become commonplace; 2G technology is no longer unfamiliar to the post-90s generation. At that time, typical MTK platform mobile phones were basically 2G, and the G network and E network logos also made people embark on the road of the Internet. Compared with 1G, the biggest change in 2G technology is the transition from analog modulation to digital modulation. The second generation of mobile communications has a high degree of confidentiality, and the system capacity is also increasing. At the same time, from this generation, mobile phones can also access the Internet; On January 7, 2009, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued three 3G licenses, namely China Mobile's TD-SCDMA, China Unicom's WCDMA and China Telecom's WCDMA2000, which marked that China officially entered the 3G era. Compared with the mature WCDMA and WCDMA2000 technologies, China Mobile's TD-SCDMA is somewhat useless. This is the fundamental reason why China Mobile was suppressed by the other two in the 3G era; the transition period from 3G to 4G is relatively short. It can be said that 4G has come to us unknowingly. With the development of communication technology, 5G is about to come to people.

Every time I see the development of science and technology, I can't help but burst into tears when I look back on the past years. It has to be said that the progress of communication technology has led people to get rid of the primitive communication methods and shortened the distance between people. China's communication technology history is bumpy. People who know it know that every time our country is several years behind the first country to update and iterate. Although there is a gap with advanced countries, it is getting smaller and smaller. The shortening of 4G commercial time shows that we are making progress. In the coming 5G era, Huawei and China Mobile have already taken the lead, and China's communication technology will be further improved in the future.

High-quality frequency bands are conducive to the development of communications

The 2G frequency band has better resources and better diffraction performance. With the same power, it can cover a wider range and penetrate more buildings to achieve good indoor coverage, which is conducive to improving the overall mobile network speed. The shutdown of 2G can release more bandwidth, which will help improve the speed of 3G and 4G networks.

As we all know, the three major operators currently have their own 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. The 2G signal is better, but the 3G network coverage is far inferior to 2G. Except for China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom basically fall back to the 2G network when making calls. Although the 3G standard can carry voice calls, it is difficult to achieve due to technical and network coverage reasons. The recently emerging Volte is an important technology to solve the coexistence of data and voice, but it must be established on the 4G network. In other words, canceling the corresponding frequency bands of 2G and developing 4G is a very good choice. China Telecom and China Unicom announced last year that they would re-cultivate the 800M and 900M low-frequency networks to improve the 4G LTE experience.

Shutting down 2G is difficult

In 2016, the number of mobile phone users in my country reached 1.28 billion. Among them, the number of mobile broadband users (i.e. 3G and 4G users) increased by 53.164 million, reaching a total of 759 million, accounting for 59.3%, which indirectly indicates that 40.7% of users are still sticking to the 2G camp. Faced with such a large population, it is very difficult to popularize 3G and 4G. Whether users will change their phones is a big problem, and whether they can use them after changing is another big problem.

Shutting down 2G is definitely a step that must be taken in the future, but no one can guarantee how long it will take, at least it is impossible before 5G is officially commercialized in 2020. First of all, as mentioned above, users are a big problem. Secondly, there is the problem of equipment investment. Even if 2G is immediately cancelled and replaced by 4G, the signal base station cannot suddenly become a 4G base station. It needs to be built and upgraded slowly. According to the morality of the three major operators, it may take a long time.

Golden frequency band - 700MHz for radio and television

The competition for 700MHz has always been a stalemate between the two camps of radio, television and telecommunications. Originally, this spectrum belonged to the radio stations under the radio, television, but with the development of network technology, radio stations have gradually faded out of our field of vision. In terms of system, mechanism, capital, market and product services, the radio and television does not yet have the ability to build and operate mobile communication networks nationwide. Although the three major operators have the ability to operate the telecommunications business well, the lack of low-frequency spectrum has forced them to quietly develop high-frequency bands and can only sigh at the 700M.

Some media reported that the SARFT Party Committee meeting has clearly allocated the 700M frequency band to China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. At the same time, "China Broadcasting Mobile" will be established to operate the 700M frequency band. I originally thought that China would be like the rest of the world, with the progress of analog-to-digital broadcasting and television, and 700M resources would be released for mobile communications, but now it seems that I guessed half right. Radio and television are gradually releasing resources, but they have not fallen into the hands of operators.

China Broadcasting and Mobile may not have the same influence as the three major operators, but no one can guarantee that it will not be a disruptor, just like the Xiaomi mobile phone in the past, which forced down the price of smart phones. I hope that China Broadcasting and Mobile can also become a dark horse to bring more benefits to consumers.

The day when 2G is replaced will come sooner or later, but this is the business of telecom operators. What consumers care most about is whether it is easy to use and whether it is affordable. If most remote areas cannot receive signals or make calls after the cancellation of 2G, what is the point of making these flashy changes? We should handle the upgrade issues of 2G users well, and not be like some organizations that dismantle it when people are not paying attention, leaving users with no choice but to do what they want. At present, the most important thing is to do a good job in the construction of the corresponding infrastructure and prepare for the cancellation of 2G in advance. It is better to prepare for a rainy day than to dig a well when thirsty.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.