| Introduced in | 1980s | 1993 | 2001 | 2009 | 2019 (Rollout started) |
| Technology | AMPS (Analog) | GSM, IS-95 (CDMA) | W-CDMA, CDMA2000 | LTE, WiMAX, LTE Advanced | NR (New Radio), NOMA |
| Multiplexing | FDMA | TDMA/CDMA | CDMA | CDMA (OFDMA for LTE) | OFDMA, NOMA |
| Switching Type | Circuit Switching | Circuit (Voice), Packet (Data) | Packet Switching | All Packet | All Packet |
| Speed | 2.4–14.4 kbps | 14.4 kbps – 384 kbps | 384 kbps – 3.1 Mbps | 100 Mbps – 1 Gbps | Up to 10 Gbps (theoretical) |
| Services | Voice Only | Voice + SMS, MMS, Basic Internet | Video Calls, Mobile Internet | HD Streaming, VoIP, Cloud Services | IoT, AI, Autonomous Vehicles, AR/VR |
| Bandwidth | Analog (Narrowband) | 25 MHz (Digital) | 25 MHz | 100 MHz | 60 GHz+ (mmWave) |
| Frequency Band | 800 MHz | 900/1800 MHz | 2100 MHz | 2600 MHz | 3–100 GHz (mmWave & Sub-6) |
| Band Type | Narrowband | Narrowband | Wideband | Ultra-Wideband | Extremely High Frequency |
| Handover | Not Applicable | Horizontal | Horizontal | Horizontal/Vertical | Horizontal/Vertical |
| Advantages | Simple, First Wireless Calls | SMS, MMS, Better Security | Faster Data, Video Calls | High Speed, Low Latency, MIMO | Ultra-Fast, Ultra-Low Latency, Massive IoT Support |
| Disadvantages | No Security, Low Capacity | Slow Data, Poor Coverage | High Power Use, Expensive | Expensive Infrastructure | High Cost, Limited Coverage (mmWave) |
| Applications | Voice Calls | SMS, Basic Browsing | Video Calls, GPS, Mobile Internet | Smartphones, HD Streaming, Wearables | Smart Cities, Autonomous Cars, AR/VR, Industry 4.0 |