CTIA Wireless 2007 Report

Ways of wirelessly getting online

By Eddie Hines

Need to go to a certain website for research? Sports scores? Looking for a place to
eat? Today there are many things you need and want that are located online. But
what if you are not at home using your DSL or Cable modem connection? We will
show you all the ways you can now get online wirelessly, either through your cell
phone, PDA, or laptop computer. In the future, this will be the mainstream way all
of America will get online.

CELL PHONES
In the cellular phone universe there are several technologies and many different
speeds available to get online. Let’s look at the main three.

Global System for Mobile Communication, or GSM, was

developed for worldwide communications. The three speeds used by consumers
today is 2G, 2.5G and 3G. Prices for customers to use this technology on their cell
phones or PDA averages to about $20 for T-Mobile customers, and $45 for AT&T
customers. Let’s take a look in more detail of the three speeds available today.

2G, or GPRS (Global Package Radio Service), give you connection speeds of
40kbps, which is a little bit slower than a 56k modem. Companies in America that
use this speed are T-Mobile and AT&T (formally Cingular). A majority of the
continental US has this speed available but certain areas have been privileged to
support higher speeds. The advantage though of using this speed is increased
battery life.

2.5G or EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) is the next level of
speed in wireless data. It can support speeds of up to 384 kbps, which are light
years faster than GPRS ever could go. Currently this speed is available in about 70%
of the country and is supported by both T-Mobile and AT&T.

3G, or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), is the next step

which is currently being implemented on the AT&T network. Although the speeds
could be more comparable with EDGE speeds, it has the capability to kick into
“overdrive”, supporting speeds up to 3.6 Mbps downstream. This then gives your
cell phone or PDA the power to not only download email and websites and amazing
speeds, but now you can really do video conferencing, music downloads, and other
pieces of data that would have taken hours using an older technology. Currently,
only 6 cities support UMTS so contact your local AT&T store for availability in your
area.

Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA. In the US, there is

another technology that only exist in 83 other countries besides the US. It’s called
Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, that although not as portable as GSM
technology, is quite ahead of them when it comes to speed. The national companies
in America that support this technology currently are Alltel, Verizon and Sprint. The
cost of unlimited usage of this technology averages to about $45 a month. Let’s
take a look at 2 of their speeds.

2.5G or 1xRt (1 times Radio Transmission Technology) is the main speed of all
CDMA2000 compatible phones and PDA’s It is available to a majority of the country
and can support speeds of up to 384kbps. Using this speed, users can download
large emails and browse the web comfortably, but still unable to stream video or
music.

3G, or EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized), is the true 3G product that supports

up to 1.5 Mbps, which allows companies like Verizon to implement their V-Cast
service, allowing customers to stream music videos, purchase and listen to music
online, watch live TV, and enjoy video conferencing.

IDEN, or Integrated Systems Enhanced Network is a 2G

technology only used now in the Sprint Nextel Corporation. This technology was
famous for its walkie-talkie feature which was only available on this network until
about a year ago. Because of the Sprint Nextel merger, this technology is being
phased out, allowing users of these phones to integrate into Sprint’s CDMA network.

Laptops
Laptops today have more options available to them to get online and much higher
speeds then a cell phone signal. And although you can use a PC data card to use
each service mentioned earlier, here are 2 technologies that only laptops and PDAs
will have access to in the near future.

Wireless Fidelity, or Wi-Fi is a technology that allows a user to connect itself

without wires to a close-by remote location. If the remote location, or router, allows
permission to access its resources, then the laptop, PDA or portable device can
essentially “log on” to that router and share any resource it has received permission
to access, including internet access. The internet speed is pre determined by both
the overall speed of the internet connection the router is receiving, and the wireless
signal speed that it is transmitting. However, the more PCs you have sharing the
network, the slower each users experience will be. Having that in mind, choose your
speed based upon the number of computers you feel will share the connection
simultaneously. The cost to access this router is determined by either the company
leasing the wireless signal, or the home that you are in that is sending off the signal.
And for security purposes a lot of users will ask for security credentials before
allowing access to their wireless network. Let’s take a look at the 3 main speeds of
wireless connections.

802.11B
The first speed that was available to the public was 802.11B. 802.xx is a
technology associated with a network protocol. The .11 signifies the Wi-Fi standard
and must be ratified worldwide before it can be used. Now the “b” indicates the
overall speed and range of the product. Max speeds for “b” was 11 Mbps and a
range of 300 square feet. Now the illusion people had was that if the speed of this
technology was 11 MBPS then the internet speed would be as fast. Sorry folks, but
the router is limited in internet speed to the fastest speed of the internet, which now
tops off only at 8 MBPS using a cable modem. However if you were to transfer data
from one pc to another using wireless, then you will see the speed increase in the
transfer.

802.11G
The second speed boost came in 2003 in the form of the letter “g” which indicated
top transfer speeds of 54 MBps. This protocol however advanced in many other
ways. Using new discoveries in Wi-Fi, scientists have discovered ways to increase
not only the range, or cloud these signals produces, but enhance the security
features as well.
The 2 offspring of “g” are SRX and MIMO. SRX allows the range of the cloud to
double in size in all directions, using multiple antennas. MIMO (Multiple in Multiple
Out), boost the strength of the signal as well, but allows the overall speed of the
router to double to 108 MBps. This technology is mainly used in homes that
transfer very large data files, like videos or email attachments, but it is also used in
the consumer electronics realm for Tivo and Slingbox to stream TV data to other
computers in your home or a mobile device. Along with easier security
implementations and setup, this has replaced the original “g” product for everyday
home or office use.

802.11N
The third and newest boost became standardized in 2007. Busing on SRX and MIMO
technology, “n” can now create speeds topping 648 Mbps and ranges up to 2400
square feet. Now the “n” can do something the previous router could not, be
neighbor friendly. Using this setting the router looks for other signals and adjusts its
total range to not how all the bandwidth of your neighbors’ routers. This router is
the ideal choice for Voice over IP applications as well as neighborhood-wide Wireless
clouds. Many companies and cities are investing into this to create the first in its
kind city Wi-Fi clouds.

WiMAX is a wireless digital communications system, also known as IEEE 802.16,

which is intended for wireless "metropolitan area networks". WiMAX can provide
broadband wireless access (BWA) up to 30 miles (50 km) for fixed stations, and 3 -
10 miles (5 - 15 km) for mobile stations. In contrast, the Wi-Fi/802.11 wireless local
area network standard is limited in most cases to only 100 - 300 feet (30 - 100m).
With WiMAX, WI-Fi like data rates are easily supported, but the issue of interference
is lessened. WiMAX operates on both licensed and non-licensed frequencies,
providing a regulated environment and viable economic model for wireless carriers.
Driven by Intel and Sprint, City Wide implantation of this new signal will begin first
in Washington DC then go across the country in the next few years. With Wi-Max
you will need a different PC card to reach this signal. At the CTIA Wireless 2007
conference, many companies showed future products that will take advantage of
this signal, but don’t look for this to happen anytime soon. Expect an access fee to
log on and use this resource, as well as issues to come up until this is perfected.
Using this technology will move us closer toward VoIP usage over standard
telephone or wireless lines and will be more cost efficient to create rather than
using multiple Wi-Fi routers to generate the same signal.
How will you log on now?
All of these technologies open the door for greater uses of our mobile devices. The
main factor for you will be cost and frequency of use. IF you know you will use your
GSM data connection more than using your wireless card in your laptop (you are not
near any Wi-Fi clouds), then invest in an unlimited GSM plan for your area and pay
for Wi-Fi when it is available. However if you know you are in a W-Fi cloud
frequently, then you may not need to pay AT&T or Verizon for their all you can eat
internet. Whatever your choice, be thankful the days of slow dialup speeds for your
mobile devices are over!