Please Explain: 2G vs. 3G

By Joseph Hanlon on 24 August 2009

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It's got to be one of the questions we get asked most by the readers of CNET Australia: "What is the difference between 2G and 3G?"

Check out the video above as we take a look at the difference between the two technologies, the strengths and weaknesses of both, and how much it will cost to get the most out of your mobile phone. Also, make sure you take a look at our guide to understanding how much mobile data you really need to make sure you're not getting ripped off the next time you sign a new mobile phone contract.

Topics: 2g, 3g, coverage, data, mobile phone, networks, speed

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Comments (7)

  • Cellofane commented on 07/10/2009 10:25

    Nice explanation Joe. Another reason why carriers go for 3G is that it creates more voice capacity and ability to handle more simultaneous voice calls. Which is a great advantage given that expanding 2G network capacity can be very very hard in crowded metros.

    Of course as you said, 2G data bills are small and manageable, 3G bills can have you calling the paramedics.
    Check out my blog post on data bill shocks - http://cellofane.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/managing-data-bill-nightmares/

  • Nebken commented on 25/08/2009 16:21

    Could you be any more patronising Mr Simms? Yesterday this video didn't work in IE8, Firefox or Chrome and today it works. Obviously something was fixed on your end. Was nothing to do with the version of Flash.

  • Craig Simms commented on 25/08/2009 12:00

    Guys, this is confirmed working in Opera 9.6, Firefox 3.5.2, IE8 and Chrome 2.0. Try installing a newer Flash player plugin:

    http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-FLASH

  • Duh commented on 25/08/2009 09:48

    What video?

    Do you guy ever look at what the reader actually sees ?

    Not on IE/Safari/Firefox.

    What do you use?

  • Roedy commented on 25/08/2009 06:52

    The video is not visible on either Opera 10 nor Firefox.

  • Roedy commented on 25/08/2009 06:50

    Until C-Net does a full essay, have a look at
    http://mindprod.com/bgloss/4g.html

    for an overview of 4G

  • Nexus commented on 24/08/2009 17:02

    Now explain 4G and what that means for the future of mobility services.

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