Surfing the internet while out of the office can be a frustrating experience. There’s the slow download speed, the tiny mobile phone browser, and the somewhat inconsistent levels of geographical coverage. You walk around a block to be met with a full signal, then shift ten feet down the road to find it all but gone.
But new technology, known to most as 4G mobile broadband, is set to change all of that. The latest iteration of mobile phone broadband, 4G connectivity is set to blow all current expectations, assumptions, and annoyances about mobile broadband out of the water. If you compare broadband today with last generation’s EDGE connections and you’ll see the potential for development – by all measures, 4G connectivity is due to replace traditional connections.
The vast majority of mobile and traditional broadband comparisons have focused on one thing: speed. What’s missing from many tests is another vital element: usability. With modern devices growing ever more dependent on mobile broadband connectivity, the value of high-speed mobile connections is due to increase dramatically.
The iPad is a worthy example. Billed as a mid-point between PC and mobile device, the iPad is available as both a home-only wireless machine, or as a combination wireless and 3G mobile broadband platform. Broadband is going beyond the traditional PC-only standard, and is becoming the de-facto connectivity choice for almost all devices.
Many consumers, businesspeople, and tech-savvy innovators know just what 4G broadband is, but few know exactly how it will change everything. The first signs of a technological revolution are in its speed – currently at a level where it could quite easily overtake traditional home or office-based DSL connections.
While data for UK-based 4G connections is very limited, an American company called Clearwire have gathered information from their cross-country rollout of 4G broadband in the United States. One of the world’s top 10 broadband providers, Clearwire’s 4G WiMax service gives users a choice of services, both for their mobile phone or network-enabled PC.
What’s most interesting is the speed. With speeds between 3-6Mbps (megabits-per-second) available, Clearwire’s broadband service comes very close to competing with traditional DSL connections. When paired with the service’s mobile nature, 4G comes out on top in almost all broadband comparison surveys, dominating in speed, usability, and sheer flexibility for its users.
There’s more to broadband comparisons that pure speed, and even when loaded against hundreds of extra features and factors, one thing remains clear: mobile broadband, particularly 4G mobile broadband, is just as able, advanced, and worthwhile for users as its traditional counterpart.
Whether it will change everything is still to be seen, but 4G broadband’s potential is very clear. Clearwire’s success in the United States could be the precursor to a worldwide change. With the company reporting that 50 percent of their users see 4G broadband as a replacement to home connections, that technological revolution could end up being sooner than expected.
Source:
Image:
