Mobile communications – on standards, classifications and generations

The research question addressed in this paper is concerned with the manners in which the general technological progress in mobile communications is characterized and the reasons for the differences in these modes of manifestation. The relevance of this research question is that the different manifestation modes create a degree of confusion in communications and discussions on mobile technologies. At the same time, it should be recognized that different manners of categorizing technologies illustrate the fact that categorizations are based on different purposes of the classification exercises. Also, the paper discusses the role of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in the processes of mobile standardization.
In common parlance, progress in mobile technologies is mostly referred to as generations. In ITU, the classification terminology is that of International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) standards. In the specialized standards body with a central position in the standardization of core mobile technologies, namely 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), the terminology of ‘releases’ is used. In order to address the research question, the paper uses an analytical framework based on the differences and relationships between the concepts of standards, classifications and generations.