Mobile broadband, also called wireless broadband, is full powered broadband Internet access that’s delivered by a mobile phone network (or a similar, long-range, radiation-based transmission system).
What is mobile broadband?
Mobile broadband is available anywhere that phone reception is available, and currently offers actual maximum speeds of around 1 Megabit per second (according to our September 2007 testing). Greater theoretical maximum speeds are claimed by nearly all the providers, but of course, in the real world signals are subject to obstacles, weather conditions, interference and bandwidth division – you’re sharing limited bandwidth with other users of the particular mobile tower your signal is coming from.
How does it work?
Mobile broadband works by transmitting data packets from mobile phone towers to your adapter, which receives them. Uplink data goes the other way – it’s transmitted by your adapter and then received and passed on by antennas on the mobile phone tower.
Why would I use mobile broadband?
If you’re a mobile worker who’s always on the road, mobile broadband could be an absolute boon. If you’re required to return to the office frequently just to check email or log into an Internet system, then mobile broadband can free you from that requirement.
Why wouldn’t I use mobile broadband?
It’s still one of the most expensive forms of Internet access, and it’s billed by data usage. Some operators charge you for both downstream data (data travelling to you from the network) and upstream data (data that you’re transmitting back to the network). In these cases, you need to look at the plan details very carefully. Also, your mobile broadband adapter (usually a PC card or USB modem) will likely cost you several hundred dollars, unless it’s built into your notebook computer. These adapters won’t always work on multiple networks, should you decide to change providers. And doing that, jumping ship from your mobile broadband provider is not as simple as just “churning” your ADSL account. You might be locked into a 12 month plan, and you’ll almost definitely need to buy a whole new modem. Finally, if you’re visiting extremely remote areas, then some kind of satellite access may be more practical.
So should I use mobile broadband?
It depends. If you’re a mobile worker who spends a lot of time away from your fixed line connection, then you could probably afford to bin the fixed connection and re-invest that money into a mobile broadband account.
There are some circumstances wireless broadband is head and shoulders above other forms of access. If you’re in an area that doesn’t have fixed line access to broadband, you may find that mobile broadband is available. Also, if your fixed line broadband performance is poor (especially when a long distance from your exchange, on ADSL), then mobile broadband may be faster. If you can afford it, and it’s fast for you, there’s no reason why not -- unless you are a compulsive downloader. The kind of bandwidth devourer who leaves a Bittorrent client chewing on the connection 24/7 and regularly hits a 12 or 20 GB limit shouldn’t use mobile broadband. Downloading more than a handful of Gigabytes a month on any mobile broadband plan will rapidly get “silly expensive”.
What do the mobile broadband acronyms mean?
HDSPA
High Speed Downlink Packet Access; a form of high-speed data connection for mobile devices using traditional phone networks such as GSM.
GPRS
General Packet Radio Service; a technology for sending data over GSM mobile phone networks. Early versions of the GPRS technology are inferior to the performance of the more recent HSDPA.
UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
A 3G mobile telecommunications system for data transfer.
3G
Third Generation; refers to recent mobile phone systems that have fast data capabilities.
2.5G
Two-point five Generation; refers to older mobile phone technology which had limited data capabilities, such as GPRS, which has similar performance to dial-up.
EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution; a relatively slow standard for data transmission over telecommunications networks. Superseded by HSDPA.
EVDO, or EV-DO
Evolution Data Optimised, a telecommunications standard for data transmission. EVDO is faster than EDGE, but both are slower than HSDPA.
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access; a form of wireless signal handling, commonly used in mobile phone networks.
GSM
Global System for Mobile communications; a mobile phone system used extensively in Europe and Australia since the 1990s.