You would be excused for wondering what has happened to 3G communications with more and more companies seemingly moving on to 4G communication systems. But what is 4G and what has actually happened to 3G?

Over the last few years we have seen literally billions and billions of dollars thrown into 2G, 3G and now 4G communications with a great number of consumers still unsure what has passed them by and what is on the way. In simple terms 2G was the second generation of mobile communications which literally put the industry on the map and opened it up to the mass market. Quicker connection times, more reliable signals and the ability to transfer much more data at quicker speeds. While 3G was the obvious next step it has turned into something of an expensive nightmare with 4G on the way and 3G not even out of the door yet.

The US government are currently in the process of putting together another auction of wireless spectrum which is expected to be snapped up by the mobile phone networks, although everyone is playing their cards very close to their chests to try and gain the upper hand. These auctions will again raise billions of dollars for the US authorities and while they are more certain to produce a return on investment than 3G ever was, nobody quite knows when the big bucks will indeed start to roll in.

While the telecoms market continues to move at lightening quick speed it is the consumer market which is still very much dragging its heels. A number of people have had their fingers burnt by so called ground breaking products in the past and more and more consumers are now content to sit back and let prices fall after launch. It will be an interesting time for the 4G providers as they will need to try and squeeze as much out of 3G as possible before trying to tempt the market with 4G.