Network Analogy

So my mentor came up with a useful analogy to explain a cellular network in a very simple way. He first compared a cellular network to the roads so that way anyone can understand. The first thing that you need to know about a road is that it can be narrow or wide. Some roads have two lanes and are easily clogged with traffic. While other roads, have 4 or 8 lanes and can handle a lot more traffic. On the mobile communication highway, the lanes are called spectrum and some networks have more lanes or spectrum than others.

Roads also have different surfaces, some are covered in dirt, some in concrete and others by smooth asphalt. The surface of the road determines how fast you can go. 2G is like a one lane dirt road, you can't go very fast, it is very bumpy and it can't handle much traffic. 3G is like driving on a two way concrete city street, its alot smoother but you cannot go very fast due to stoplights, and speed limits. 4G is like driving on an eight lane highway, it's fast, smooth, and there is plenty of room for everybody. And finally their is 4G LTE which is like the carpool lane in a highway where their is almost never traffic.

Finally the cars on the highways are like phones, some are basic sadans, while others are hot sports cars with the latest bells and whistles. Regardless, all cell phones are limited by too much traffic. It doesn't matter how fast your car (phone) is, if there is too much traffic in that road you'll slow down.

Lastly, the data on your phone is like gasoline, because if you don't have enough gas, you'll run out and your vehicle will stop, it's no different than a phone.

This is how my mentor explained Network Technology to me and I thought it was such a good explanation I decided to draw it out on my poster on Friday.

Oscar Holzmeister (Radio Frequency Engineer)