Understanding Cellular communications

[instantkamera]

A question for all the geeks.

I was wondering, is there a text out there that covers all future, current, and past cellular network/wireless communications standards/protocols.

Something that compares the various standards, how they have grown along-side one another, and details about which carriers used what standards would be extra cool.

thanks...

[Ekaros]

Umm, that's a quite wide area. If you consider every freaking standard out there...

[instantkamera]

yeah. Well the ones that have been in widespread use in NA-EU-ASIA would be fine. How they have expanded etc. This is why I want a book, not just an article.

[wap32]

I'm not sure there is such a thing.
I mean, considering how fast mobile communications are evolving you'd have to release a new edition each year.

[instantkamera]

technically that is not true, I dont care about phone FEATURES, but the communications protocols and standards. The "G" standards have a scope of about 10 years, although they certainly overlap (and the latest generations are in constant flux as they have not been officially standardized).

Rip is correct, the stuff sold as 4G right now, in one way or another, is not truely compliant to what the 4G standard dictates (this is all from my limited understanding).

I have always refrained from owning a cellphone, I think partly because I dont like to own things I dont understand.

I dont know the different between CDMA and GSM, It would be grand to get an overview of the base technologies, when they came about, how they have grown, and how they fit into current and future implementations. I dont so much care for a detailed mathematical explanation complete with equations though, more of a broadly reaching history.

[wap32]

I don't mean to sound like a smartass, but doesn't wikipedia have enough info?
Something like this?

Or maybe I didn't quite understand what you're looking for. :ohwell:

[instantkamera]

wikipedia has too much info, actually. I would prefer something structured in a way that is more of a casual read.

edit:
That page is awesome though, it's one I didnt see when digging around (again, the "too much info" thing).