From Analog 1G to NTN: How Mobile Networks Reached Space
The history of mobile communications — from the first “bricks” and analog calls to 5G and satellite-based NTN networks. How generations differ, how standards work, and why it is important to understan
Why Does Everyone Talk About “G”?
Every time operators announce a new network, we hear the magic letter “G.” For most people it simply means “faster internet.” But in reality, each generation of mobile networks changed how we communicate and even live. 1G freed us from wires. 2G made the phone secure and widely available. 3G brought mobile internet. 4G gave us smartphones and social media. 5G became the foundation for autonomous cars and the Internet of Things. And now NTN extends connectivity all the way into space.
This is not just technical evolution — it’s a journey: from the first “bricks” in the hands of 1980s businessmen to today’s smartphones, which can catch a signal even from orbit.
1G — The Analog Pioneers
The 1980s. Having a mobile phone in your car or on your shoulder was a status symbol. This was the first generation, 1G. Its principle: a simple analog signal. The voice was transmitted over the air exactly as it sounded, with no “digital” processing.
Popular systems had different names: AMPS in the US, NMT in Scandinavia, TACS in the UK. They all operated in the 450–900 MHz band.
Maximum data speed? None — 1G carried only voice.
The key idea, however, was cellular architecture: each tower covered its “cell,” and when you moved, the call was “handed over” to the next tower. That concept opened the door to scalability.
2G — The Digital Revolution
In the 1990s, noisy analog calls were replaced by digital transmission. Thus came the second generation — 2G.
Its main hero was GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). Born as a European project, it quickly became global. For the first time, it established strict rules:
frequencies divided into 200 kHz channels, each split into 8 timeslots;
calls encrypted for security;
a structured network with BTS, BSC, MSC, HLR/VLR.
And this was the era when the SIM card appeared — a tiny chip that became the passport of the subscriber, allowing numbers to move between phones.
Phones also started to “speak” in text. SMS became a cultural phenomenon. And when users wanted internet access, along came GPRS and EDGE.
GPRS offered up to ~114 kbps.
EDGE pushed that to ~384 kbps.
In 2G, data was initially tied to voice channels. Only with GPRS/EDGE did networks start providing slots dedicated to data, relatively independent from voice traffic.
3G — Mobile Internet Takes Off
The early 2000s. SMS was no longer enough. People wanted video calls, email on the go, and online music. Enter the third generation — 3G.
Two competing standards emerged: UMTS (Europe, Asia) and CDMA2000 (US). At the core was WCDMA, which allowed users to be separated by codes, not just by frequency or timeslot.
Frequencies ranged from 850 to 2100 MHz, with typical channels of 5 MHz.
Speeds:
basic UMTS: up to 384 kbps,
HSPA: up to 14 Mbps,
HSPA+: up to 42 Mbps.
Unlike 2G, 3G allowed simultaneous voice and data, so browsing didn’t “pause” when a call came in.
This was the generation that propelled the first real smartphones — pocket computers rather than mere phones.
4G — LTE and the Explosion of Smartphone Culture
The 2010s marked a new era: YouTube, Instagram, Netflix. Streams of video, social networks, and messaging required a very different network. That was the fourth generation — 4G.
Its core was LTE (Long Term Evolution), which finally abandoned the “telephone logic” and became fully internet-oriented. Everything — including voice — was transmitted as IP traffic via VoLTE.
Technical innovations of LTE included:
OFDMA on downlink (robustness),
SC-FDMA on uplink (battery efficiency),
MIMO — multiple antennas simultaneously boosting speed.
Speeds:
LTE: up to ~100 Mbps downlink, ~50 Mbps uplink,
LTE-Advanced: up to 1 Gbps.
Voice no longer consumed dedicated resources — it became just another IP service.
This was also when eSIM first appeared, replacing the physical SIM card with a software profile inside the device. This allowed multiple profiles per phone and made activation much easier.
4G created the world of social networks and streaming. The smartphone stopped being a “phone” and became our window into the global digital ecosystem.
5G — The Next Level
When 5G rolled out in the 2020s, many expected just “faster speeds.” And yes, it delivered gigabits — but its real strength is being flexible and universal.
5G operates in both familiar sub-6 GHz bands and entirely new millimeter-wave (24–100 GHz) ranges, offering huge capacity.
Speeds:
theoretical peak: up to 10 Gbps,
real-world: hundreds of Mbps to several Gbps.
Its three core service categories:
eMBB — enhanced broadband (gigabit internet),
URLLC — ultra-reliable low-latency (<1 ms) for autonomous vehicles or remote surgery,
mMTC — massive IoT connectivity for millions of devices.
And there’s network slicing: the ability to split one physical network into several virtual ones — one for video, one for IoT sensors, one for emergency services.
Unlike earlier generations, 5G makes no real distinction between calls, streaming, or IoT packets. Everything is just data in a highly optimized network.
5G is more than speed: it’s a platform for smart cities, self-driving cars, and the Internet of Everything.
NTN — When Networks Leave Earth
The latest addition is NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks). This isn’t just another “generation” — it’s an extension of the whole concept of mobile connectivity.
Similarities and differences
Think of a satellite as a kind of “space-based tower.” Like terrestrial base stations, satellites create “cells” of coverage. But there are key differences:
the distance to satellites is much greater, so latency is higher than with ground towers,
satellites, especially in LEO (~500–600 km altitude), are constantly moving,
stability requires advanced algorithms and new protocols.
Why it works with existing phones
The trick is that Starlink Direct-to-Cell, AST SpaceMobile, and others use spectrum already allocated to mobile services (e.g., LTE Bands 2, 4, 5, 12). This means ordinary smartphones can connect without extra antennas or hardware changes.
Range of NTN solutions
LEO satellites — low latency (tens of ms), moderate speeds (Mbps).
GEO satellites — higher latency (600+ ms), but huge coverage.
HAPS (High-Altitude Platforms: balloons, drones) — regional coverage.
The future: hybrid networks seamlessly switching users between ground, sky, and space.
Importantly, NTN is no longer science fiction. It was standardized in 3GPP Release 17, and the first commercial trials are already underway.
Who Sets the Rules: 3GPP and Its Releases
In this alphabet soup of technologies, one organization keeps order: 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) — a global consortium that defines the standards.
3GPP publishes major updates in the form of Releases. Each Release is a package of new features:
Release 99 — GSM evolution and the first steps of 3G,
Release 8 — launch of LTE (4G),
Release 15 — the first commercial 5G,
Release 17 — introduction of NTN.
For ordinary users, these numbers may seem like bureaucracy. But in reality, they are a roadmap: they reveal what a network actually supports versus what operators market in press releases.
Why This Story Matters
In 40 years, mobile networks have gone from analog “suitcase calls” to satellite internet in your pocket. Each generation didn’t just accelerate data — it opened a new dimension: from voice to text, from text to video, from video to global smart services.
Most importantly, understanding the role of 3GPP and its Releases matters. That’s where it’s decided what counts as “true” LTE or 5G, when NTN appears, and which features are backed by real specifications. Releases are the evolutionary calendar of the mobile world.
With this map in mind, you won’t get lost in the “alphabet soup” of acronyms. Next time you hear a new buzzword, you’ll know where it belongs on the map — and what the next step may be.