Staying up to date with latest technologies can be very difficult because everyday there is a new invention out in the market. As the internet evolves, so do the networks that deliver it into your hands.
If you are a smartphone user you will be quite interested in getting to know the differences between “Fixed Wireless” and “Mobile Broadband”. We are going to tell you about the major differences between these two technologies. But first, you need to know what these technologies are.
What is mobile broadband?
Mobile broadband is a wireless technology that lets the user connect a mobile device such as your smartphone or tablet to a broadband internet connection wirelessly through a mobile phone network. Many newer devices, including most laptops, now come equipped with the technology to allow this access built into them.
Mobile broadband depends on cell towers to transfer data to your mobile phone, maintaining the internet portable for millions of users. These networks are used for a high volume demanding fairly low bandwidth, focusing on activities like streaming the internet or transferring voice data. Mobile internet is designed to be flexible, so networks sacrifice speed and latency in patchy coverage areas.
What is fixed wireless?
Fixed wireless refers to the operation of wireless devices or systems in fixed locations such as homes and offices. Fixed wireless devices usually get their electrical power from the utility mains, unlike mobile wireless or portable wireless which tend to be battery-powered. A wireless modem works something like an amateur-radio “phone patch,” except faster.
This technology involves connecting existing fibre, cable, or DSL internet between two fixed locations through radio and a receiver. With the help of fixed wireless which depends on small stations to transfer data at high speeds, which is exactly the same to a satellite but localized. Because the stations are clustered close together, the technology has the ability to deliver faster internet speeds than 4G with lower latency. A few years ago it was quite expensive to set up fixed wireless because of less number of subscribers. But with the passage of time, it is getting cheaper and is accessible to nearly everyone all around the world.
Difference between Mobile Broadband and Fixed Wireless
Fixed wireless provides high-speed internet access over a large area, where an internet access point mostly a wireless router beams signal to various devices for connectivity with a radio or other wireless link. Mobile broadband is high-speed internet access delivered over a mobile phone network
Fixed wireless delivers broadband from the backbone of the internet by using base stations to transfer the signal from building to building, like a satellite. Fixed wirless is usually much faster than cellular 4G networks and have low latency, but are limited to densely populated areas because they require line-of-sight connectivity.