What are all these new acronyms popping up in the wireless Internet services area? By now, most of us have heard of the wireless technology called WiFi which is used to connect your computer, laptop or handheld (e.g. iTouch, PSP, DS) to the Internet. WiFi has made it through a few generations to the current “N” version (officially known as the IEEE 802.11n standard). WiFi has brought great convenience to the data world like the cordless and cell phone has to voice calls. However, WiFi has a distance limitation of a few hundred feet. So when you want to leave your house or office, how do you get a good connection to the Internet?
There are more and more WiFi hotspots being built around town and so you may be able to find one available where you need one. Some are free but limited what you can connect to. Others that provide unlimited connection are free if you are a wired broadband customer (e.g.
Road Runner Speed Zone) or you can connect for a fee.
If you can't find a hotspot and there are other fast wireless connection available. For a few years now, cell phone companies have been providing wireless data connections to the Internet through their cellular networks. These systems have evolved to what is commonly known as “3G” or “Third Generation” services. These 3G systems use two different types of technology depending on which cell phone provider you are using (i.e.
EVDO or
EDGE). In either case, the speed you can get from this kind of service ranges from 0.6 to 1.4 mbps down to your computer (burst to 2 mbps) and 0.5 to 0.8 mbps out from your computer (burst to 1.8 mbps). This is far slower than what we are use to with WiFi or a regular wired connection from Road Runner (nominal download speed of up to 5, 8 or 15 mbps and 1 mbps up) or DSL (nominal download speeds of up to 3, 7 or 11 mbps and 1 mbps up) but I didn’t need to tell any of you who have tried browsing on your smart phone.
Like a lot of other things, a new faster service has been in the works and will soon be here in Hawaii. The new service is called “4G” or “Fourth Generation” service. The first kind of 4G service that will be available uses a technology called “WiMax”. This new service is promising speeds up to 4 to 6 mbps down and 1 to 2 mbps from your computer. These speeds are not as fast as what you can get with a home or office based system but they are a good increase from the previous 3G service. Besides the good news of increase speeds, the prices for 3G service should be also dropping as 4G takes its place as the latest and greatest. On the downside, like its predecessors, 4G coverage might not be available everywhere from the start. On the Mainland there are a handful of locations which have launched this service so far (e.g. Baltimore, Portland, Las Vegas and Atlanta).
So if you are one who needs to have the latest and greatest, you should sign up on the waiting list of providers (i.e. Time Warner Cable, Sprint and Clearwire) who are preparing to launch by the end of the year, so they will notify you the minute their service becomes available. So what about the rest of us? This new 4G service is promising to be evolutionary as going from dial-up to broadband for a slightly higher price. If you currently have a 3G service, you probably need to look at your contract period and any penalties for terminating early. If you don’t have service now and have been looking at 3G service, you should wait a few more months for the new 4G service. Will this replace your home or work wired connections? Although the speed of this new 4G service is much faster, it cannot compare to the wired services which will also be bumping their speeds up soon (e.g. RR is moving up to 10 mbps download). Also if you have multiple users in your family or business, the wired network is still your best choice. With new high bandwidth service emerging (e.g. HD video), the need for a faster broadband connection remains. Will data service follow the path taken by the voice from the landline to the cell phone? I think it too early to tell. The freedom of a wireless data connection will allow you to stay connected in more places than before but your life style will dictate whether that will be best for you.
