THE ARCHITECTURE OF 4G

HOW DOES IT WORK ?

 Starting from the internet or the IMS systems, these are world wide connections that provide multimedia through IP
addresses. Data pockets from these networks are fetched by packet data network gateways(PDN). These are major
components of the evolved data packet core and are responsible for maintaining Quality Of Services by different
mechanisms such as deep data inspection. Evolved packet core is a framework that converges both voice and data in
a single IP.
 Data packets are then transported to the user based on the profile of the specific user. Information about user related
and subscription data are stored in the HOME SUBSCRIBER SERVICE(HSS). This database also provides
authentication, authorization and accounting functions.
 But how does the network know where the users are? Through the mobility management entity. It tracks the
locations of users.
 Then finally through the Serving gateway the data packets are routed to the Radio Access Network(RAN). The recent
LTE technologies utilize the EUTRAN(Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio access network). This is just basically a wide
network that consists the user equipment(cell phones or IOT devices), the eNodeB (transmission and receiving tower )
and the interface in between the two.
 Its working mechanism is different from its predecessors. It employs an OFDMA(Orthogonal frequency division
multiple access) for transmitting data from the towers to the UEs and single carrier frequency division multiple
access(SC-FDMA) to transfer data from the user to the towers.
 OFDMA divides the signal to parallel data streams of the same bandwidth that travel through radio sub channels. It
is basically a way to create more tiny pipes in a large pipe enabling an efficient use of the pipe area(bandwidth).
SERVICES PROVIDED
ADVANTAGES OF USING 4G
Faster data speed:- enables the user to receive high quality contents rapidly, allows service givers to
provide more data intense and engaging contents to their users.
lower latency- provision of data in a very short amount of delay i.e. in milliseconds. It Can conduct live
conferences, meetings, traffic records, online gaming and streaming.
wider coverage and good capacity:- can provide fast internet services for densely populated regions
can support rich content features as augmented and virtual reality
IoT and m2m interactions:- enables different types of machines to send data to each other and
automation.
LIMITATIONS
Infrastructure requirements, a problem for developing countries
High mobile battery consumption
Security issues that arise from the connection of two or more devices
Being much more vulnerable to cyber attacks as the network encourages home automation
A Denial of Service error for the user, 4g uses a diameter signaling protocol which allows personal data of
the user to be shared between diameter nodes in the network. This personal data can be used to track the
online activity of the user and disable the user from using certain kinds of services.
 WORLD WIDE MARKET PENETRATION
4G technology accounted for
60 percent of all mobile
connections in 2022, up from
58 percent the previous year,
while 5G technology
accounted for a 12 percent
share. By 2030, continued 5G
adoption is expected to see
the next generation
technology make up over half
of connections worldwide.

From
mobile technology share by generation. (n.d.). statista.com.https://
www.statista.com/statistics/740442/worldwide-share-of-mobile-telecommunication technology
/#:~:text=4G%20technology%20accounted%20for%2060,over%20half%20of%20connections%20worldwide.
MARKET PENETRATION IN AFRICA
In 2022, 3G technology
occupied 55 percent of the
market for mobile
telecommunication technology
in sub-Saharan Africa, with
older 2G and 4G technology
each accounting for a 22
percent share. 4G technology
is set to surpass 3G by 2030,
while newer 5G technology is
set to gain a foothold.

From mobile technology share by sub-Saharan Africa by generations. (n.d.). statista.com.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/740592/sub-saharan-africa-share-of-mobile-
telecommunication-technology/#statisticContainer
 ETHIOPIAN CONTEXT
There are currently 2 network providers in ethiopia: Ethiotelecom and Safaricom
Ethiopia. Both companies have invested a lot in spreading infrastructures for
realizing 4g technologies.
Ethiotelecom claims that the company has launched 4G LTE services in 67 towns and
made additional 4G LTE network expansions in the already service launched 27
towns. According to the company , a total of 181 towns are able to access 4G LTE
service countrywide through the Ethiotel network.
There is no clear data on how many cities safaricom has provided customers with
4G network access. But as the Sim-card supports connection to 4G, about 11 cities
in the country should be able to access 4G network through safaricom.