Wireless generations last 10 years for commercial reasons.

Each cellular generation consists of mobile devices, cellular towers, and standards. Companies and standards bodies like 3GPP clamor to define the next G.

2G1990-2000
• circuit switched
• digital signals
• voice or data overlay
• 9-19 Kbps
• dial up
• voice:GSM, iDEN, IS-95
• data: CDPD, GPRS, EDGE

3G2000-2010
• packet switched
• isolated voice and data spectrum
• transparent roaming
• quality sound & video
• 2 Mbps data
• caller location
• voice: WCDMA (UMTS)| cdma2000 | TDD | UWC | FDD
• data: EV-DO, HSDPA

From here on, are my best projections.

4G 2010-2020
• pure digital
• entirely packet switched
• all internet protocol
•500 Mbps data multicast mode, 50 Mbs symmetric
• dynamic bandwidth allocation of voice or data
• call transience and data context transference
• topology extension to all IP radios including WWAN and PAN
• many IP devices in one conversation
• variable casting, immediate personal networks, dynamic peering topology
• antenna arrays and bonded service aggregation
• Wi-Max | LTE | 802.20

5G2020-2030
• multi-spectral wide-band dynamic radios
• hundreds of IP devices in one conversation
• multiple machine conversations - M2M protocols
• robotic bus
• stream bending with spectral identity replacing IP
• 1 Gbps symmetric
• IPv6 with superPAN microaddressing
• software defined radio architecture
• software defined antenna
• parametric signal, sense and multisychronous protocols
• global interoperability with full presence roaming

6G2030-2040
• multi-interval code interlays
• compound-spectral multi-band
• microspectral pure channels
• virtual 1 Tbps continuous
• personal carrier identity per frequency
• derivative protocols
• integrated multichannel with capillary level electromagnetic topology
• variable "blanket" topologies
• multidefinition ambimedia carrier signal

Essay on the technical forecast for future of wireless networks is currently private.

Wiki on 3G

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