Our unparalleled test of mobile broadband returns, comparing the three fastest services on offer in Australia. Read PC Authority's full comparative results drawn from exhaustive testing with real-world data.
Introduction and how we tested
Mobile broadband has really hit the consumer mainstream in 2007, with some major price drops combined with improved coverage and higher-speed network upgrades. Major telcos that weren’t in the space have launched mobile broadband services in 2007 and are promoting them over hill and dale.
They’ll all claim similar performance, but we know, and you know, that those claims aren’t always true. Is Next G really twice as fast as other services? Would 3 mobile’s 3G handsets eat into the available bandwidth for mobile broadband users? Has Vodafone upgraded their network since last year? All of these questions can be satisfied by looking at our test results – which are fascinating, in what they show.
We tested Telstra Next G, Vodafone Mobile Connect and 3 Mobile Broadband around the Sydney metro area, to find out how these services really differ under real-world conditions. We also explore how easy each service was to setup, and we compiled a detailed pricing table for the various services. The pricing is important, as mobile broadband is still one of the most expensive forms of Internet access; you want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Finally, we took a quick look at some 3G routers, which allow you to connect several land lines, faxes and computers to a single 3G connection, for a kind of “office on the road”. Read on!
How we tested
For our testing, we used a range of real-world broadband tests which measure the fitness of the service for various different purposes. We tested under Windows Vista, and each test application was run in isolation on the system.
Background activity: We cut background activity right down by disabling all security software, turning off Windows Vista updates, and running no other applications that seek to access the Internet concurrently (including taskbar applications). Between tests, the Internet Explorer cache was also cleared.
Downstream data test:
We used the commercial Bandwidthplace.com test to measure the download of a 1MB file. We ran this test five times on each service, at every location with Internet Explorer.
Upstream data test:
To test the upstream, we uploaded a 1.3MB file to an FTP server on the Internet, using WS-FTP.
Google ping test:
We ran a batch to ping www.google.com.au thirty times and calculated the average. This gives an indication of web responsiveness. With mobile broadband, single packets are often lost into the ether, more so than with fixed line connections. The lower the “ping”, measured in milliseconds, the better.
Google Maps test:
When mobile, the Google Maps site is great for navigating. We tested how quickly these data-heavy pages would load under wireless broadband.
YouTube playback test:
Web video is a key broadband application, so we tested YouTube’s performance in playing back a medium quality clip.
Skype realtime VoIP test:
Voice over Internet Protocol requires a very clean and responsive broadband connection to get great results, so we tested the free Skype call-loopback, and counted the number of obvious distortions, delays, and errors due to dropped packets.
Counter-Strike game experience:
Online action games require split-second responsiveness, and low latency to deliver a good game experience.This is perhaps the ultimate latency test, as Counter-Strike is one of the most network-demanding games where a poor ping to the game server results in you losing the game. Game events in Counter-Strike are measured in split-seconds, and a one-second delay is the difference between winning and losing. We connected to the fastest server to come up in the Valve server browser. The lower the latency (or “ping” number, measured in milliseconds), the better. Under 100ms is considered adequate for play. Gamers who are considering dropping their fixed line connections for 3G access, will be most interested in these results.
Next: Ease of installation testing