Since the first mobile phones were made available in the 1980s, telecommunication providers have been investing in mobile networks to expand coverage, improve services, and attract more users. First-generation networks supported mobile voice calls but were limited in coverage and capacity. To address those limitations, providers developed and deployed second-generation (2G) mobile networks, then third-generation (3G), and fourth-generation (4G) networks. Each generation offered improved speeds, greater capacity, and new features and services. In 2018, telecommunication providers began deploying fifth-generation (5G) networks to meet growing demands for data from consumer and industrial users. 5G networks are expected to enable providers to expand consumer services (eg: video streaming, virtual reality applications), support the growing number of connected devices (eg: medical devices, smart homes, Internet of Things), support new industrial uses (eg: industrial sensors, industrial monitoring systems), perform advanced data analytics, and enable the use of advanced technologies (eg: smart city applications, autonomous vehicles). This book provides a background on mobile technologies, and addresses the race to 5G, factors affecting 5G deployment, and national security.
