R Ramachandran is at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur. His area of interest includes communication systems, computer networks, mobile computing and neural networks.

For the last couple of years, one of the hottest topics in computing and communications has been wireless technology. During this time, the technology has attracted many users and has undergone numerous changes, including Internet connectivity. It appears that wireless technology has reached a turning point, as vendors and researchers prepare to take it to the next level. A key issue for wireless is what form the technology’s next generation will take. The selection of the ‘air interface’ for a wireless system is a seminal decision for a service provider. The air interfaces and an overview of data transfer in cellular networks for first generation (1G) analog systems, second generation (2G) digital systems, enhanced second-generation (2.5G) systems, and third generation (3G) advanced digital cellular systems are discussed in this article. The emphasis is on covering the key characteristics of each air interface technology.

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Address for Correspondence
R Ramachandran
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
Sriperumbudur 602105, India.
Email: rrama@svce.ac.in