What does 3G stand for?

According to About.com, 3G stands for the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology. The first pre-commercial 3G network was launched by NTT DoCoMo in May 2001; the first commercial 3G network was also launched by NTT DoCoMo several months later, in October 2001.

As of May 2014, there have been five types of cellular networks: 1G, 2G, 2.5G, 3G and 4G. 3G networks raised data-transmission speeds and allowed mobile phones to perform more data-intensive tasks, such as streaming audio and video. 4G networks claim to be anywhere from four to 10 times faster than 3G networks, but as of 2014, the service is not as widely available as 3G.