Meaning of EDGE, GPRS, HSDPA, 3G, 4G LTE [Network Terms]

Some of these technical terms that we use daily are worth knowing whether your are a computergeekor not. I'll be explaining some of them to you today. 

What does the G mean? 

Before advancing, it should be known that 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G etc refers to the different generations of wireless communication technology characterized by having a defined range of speed.

GPRS(General Packet Radio Service) 

GPRS is a packet-based* wireless communication service. It is a 2G technology network that support a download speed of up to 114Kbps.

Limitation of GPRS is that GPRS data cannot be sent while a voice call is in progress.

EDGE(Enhanced Data GSM Evolution) 

GPRS and EDGE are both 2G technology but EDGE is significantly faster with a download speed of up to 384Kbps. EDGE is sometimes called a 2.5G network as it also has some characteristics of a 3G network but it doesn't satisfy the specification.

3G

Introduction of 3G network made video calling and seamless streaming of video possible, with download speed of up to 3.1Mbps. 

HSDPA(High-Speed Down-link Packet Access)

It is based on the 3G network and an enhancement to 3G. Thus has a faster speed, download speed can be up to 14Mbps. HSDPA is sometimes called 3.5G.

HSPA+(Evolved High-Speed Packet Access)

HSPA+ is an evolution HSPA(HSDPA&HSUPA).

It is a 4G technology that allows download at a rate of up to 168Mbps.

4G LTE(Long Term Evolution)

LTE is a 4G communication standard that supports HD video streaming, download speed as high as 299.6Mbps.

Summary - Hierarchy

GPRS(114Kbps) < EGDE(368Kbps) < 3G(3.1Mbps) < HSDPA(14Mbps) < HSPA+(168Mbps) < 4G/LTE(299.6Mbps)

What does packet mean? As in packet data 

*Packet-based means data is broken into packets before being transmitted.