Internet Connections 3G vs 4g vs wifi

INTERNET CONNEC

TIONS

3G VS 4G VS WIFI

B Y DA V I D

PH I L

L I PS A

N D DA N I E

L RI T

T E R

Several types: 802.11, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n

802.11: max 2 Mbps, no longer produced802.11b: 11 Mbps, cheapest, good signal range but slowest max speed of modern WiFi802.11a: 54 Mbps, little interference, highest cost and short range and walls obstruct802.11g: 54 Mbps, longer range, passes through walls, average price, interference802.11n: 100 Mbps>, most range and least interference, not yet finalized, higher price, interferes with b/g networks

(experimental)802.11ac around 500Mbps, Expected to be widely used by 2015 (as long as the Mayans were wrong), AC chips were announced January 5th, 2012 http://compnetworking.about.com/

od/wirelessfaqs/f/howfastis80211g.htm

WiFi Connections

3G CONNECTIONS 3G is available in nearly every major city in the US. Speeds range from 450kbps to 1400kbps as seen below To access 3G you must

have a 3G capable device and a data plan

3G is not too bad price wise, but overages can cost thousands

Can be used to access internet, make calls (video and voice), and download/upload data.

3G PRICING PLANS (DATA PACKAGES)

http://www.verizonwireless.com

www.sprint.com

4G CONNECTIONS• The Newest mobile

connection available to the public

• Can reach speeds of 100mbps download and 50mbps upload (under ideal circumstances)

• 4G works by using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing or OFDM

• OFDM: Signal is divided in to parallel data streams and then brought back together once it reaches your device

• Under real world conditions, testers got 6mbps download on 4G and 1mbps on 3g

• 4g isn’t available everywhere (see next slide)

Verizon 4g map (3g in red, 4g is stars)