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Introduced commercially in 2001 and considered to be the first high-speed mobile network generation, 3G transmits at rates up to 7.2Mbps. Devices taking advantage of 3G technology are able to access not only voice and SMS services but also the internet itself and, therefore, an online world of mobile multimedia. This is the generation that inspired consumers to start using the term “smartphone.”

3G’s increased data transfer capabilities (4 times faster than 2G) also led to the rise of new services such as video conferencing, video streaming and voice over IP (such as Skype).