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3G Broadband Coverage

Although 3G broadband is becoming a popular choice for people in need of broadband flexibility,3G broadband wireless connections are not available for anyone who wish to switch to 3G Internet. This is because most broadband carriers offering 3G technologies have been building 3G networksin business districts, major cities, and other urban areas. As such, Internet users living or working in non-3G areas will not be able to take advantage of 3G services. If you don’t know whether your home or office can get 3G Internet, you need to know what the 3G broadband coverage in your area is like.

3g

Wireless broadband coverage varies by region. Just like phone coverage, it will be weaker or even unavailable if you’re accessing Internet in rural areas and in underground locations. Because of this, it is important to determine broadband coverage in your area before buying a mobile broadband card, dongles or USB sticks and applying for 3G services.

If you’re running a business where your employees require Internet access wherever they go, make sure to identify the geographic areas where they live and work, then compare these locations with 3G network coverage maps, so you can get information where 3G connectivity is available. Most carriers offer coverage maps on their websites to allow potential clients to check if they can benefit from 3G Internet should they subscribe to the carrier’s 3G packages.

If 3G mobile phones don’t work in your area, but you went ahead and subscribed to a particular Internet provider, you can’t expect good or existing 3G connections. If you do this, you will likely be disappointed. If a friend recommended their carrier to you because of superb 3G broadband quality, it doesn’t mean that the carrier can provide the same level of performance your friend has experienced should you subscribe with that particular carrier.

When your area has 3G broadband coverage, the speed you will receive depends on two factors – the Internet service provider you’re with and the location where you use your computer. Even if you have the most advanced modem or you are living in an area where broadband coverage is at its peak, it is unlikely that you’ll receive the maximum speed advertised by your carrier. This is because the distance from your house to the mobile mast, trees, buildings and other structures between your location and the mast, as well as the number of 3G network users within your neighborhood will affect the speed of your connection.

While 3G broadband offers mobility for users on the go, it may still not be available in your area. To ensure you will receive the best broadband connection for your needs, budget and location, it is best to check for broadband coverage before you actually subscribe with a particular Internet provider. Buy cheap phone with payday advance

Broadband Connection

What is broadband? For those who wish to upgrade their internet service provide, this salient question may be the first thing that come to our minds. But the one important question should be: What can broadband do for me that dial-up can’t?

Broadband has been taking the internet service provider wars by storm. There are tremendous benefits for broadband that individuals and business are rapidly switching to this internet pipeline. Broadband is a form of telecommunications by which a broad range of frequencies is available to wire information. The most common forms of broadband are cable and DSL. With the advent of broadband, the dial-up modem is slowly being shunted aside. Here are a few reasons why more individuals and companies are switching to broadband.

Broadband is built for speed. Because of the wide range of frequencies available, data through the internet can be multiplexed, which allows the quick transfer and delivery of information. In fact, broadband on average is around 20 times faster than dial-up. Dial-up is usually 28-56 kilobits per second (kps) and broadband is around 1500kps.

Speed is important for content delivery, particularly media. For instance, media such as videos and music demand speeds for adequate streaming. Or even popular sites such as youtube.com require a fast connection. Games, such as online role-playing games, hog connection bandwidth to adequately play online.

Broadband provides users with more than just speed. One great advantage is that it’s always on and connected. In the world of dial-up, one needs to connect through a phone line. So to connect you must dial-up, get a “handshake” and wait for the connection to be available. This process could take up to one minute, or even more, causing frustration. With broadband, there is no attempt to dial-up to the server. As long as the physical connection is maintained, the connection does not need to be dialed up. All one needs to do is have the computer connected via a LAN cable, or wireless.

This alternative service also frees up your home phone. Sometimes with dial-up, the phone line competes with the dial-up line. As such, users can only use the phone line one at a time. With broadband, access is kept separate; which means that you can still maintain a dedicated phone line. Who would want to lose important phone calls?

Can you save money with this broadband? Most will think that broadband might be a little costly; indeed, it is. However, this service does allow for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) for a cheap price. VOIP is a cost-effective way to provide IP telephony services through the delivery of voice information over the Internet. In other words, VOIP can replace your normal telephone. Some save over 50% of their phone bills with a VOIP subscription.

If you have more than one computer, you can find that it’s not easy to share a dial-up line. Usually, only one computer can use the same line. Broadband, however, allows more than one connection. In fact, there’s really no limit at all as long as bandwidth isn’t full. Dial-up may require additional lines, if there is more than one computer needing access.

Broadband provides many advantages over dial-up. Although you’ll pay a premium for its service, the benefits outweigh the costs for most people.

Mobile Broadband – Advantages and Disadvantages

Wireless is the new kid on the block that seems set for greatness. How could it not be, after all, when it offers various degrees of freedom that previously simply did not exist? By avoiding the clutter of wires, and allowing portable notebooks to truly be as portable as they should, wireless technology has found a place in the hearts of even the most jaded computer users.

Mobile broadband is an extension of this newfound freedom. By offering high-speed, broadband, internet access of a wireless nature through portable modems, telephones or other custom devices, it allows, again, for more freedom. Unfortunately this freedom comes with disadvantages too.

Two major advantages of mobile broadband

Firstly, mobile broadband offers unprecedented levels of convenience as far as broadband internet is concerned. All that is needed is the modem, and internet access is readily available, in theory anyway. If coverage is good enough, it would be completely possible to use mobile broadband overseas from any computer terminal you happen to pass by.

Secondly, the complete lack of need for a landline makes for further flexibility. Whether at home, work, or the park, a land line is completely unnecessary. This translates into even less cables dangling around, and even greater portability.

Two major disadvantages of mobile broadband

Firstly, rather unfortunately, the range of reception for most mobile broadband networks seems to be decidedly limited for now. Sometimes the bad reception exists in ‘pockets’ here and there from which connecting to the broadband internet is not possible, but at other times it can be entire areas that are simply not covered. Also worrisome is the fact that when there is a high concentration of users in a particular area utilizing the mobile broadband, it can cause a general slowdown in service.

Secondly, the bandwidth available to mobile broadband customers is generally much smaller than their more conventional cousins. Although this particular limitation would go unnoticed to most casual users, heavier internet users would find it stifling to their activities. Some current mobile broadband providers charge on a per-MB usage basis and this too can end up being costly unless the broadband is used sparingly.

As a verdict, mobile broadband has a vast potential that can be tapped into and taken advantage of, however it remains very much limited as of yet. That said, it should be noted that the same was said of wireless networks at one point in time, not so very long ago, and as such never underestimate what tomorrow may bring.

For the casual user that values mobility and convenience over speed and consistency, mobile broadband is still a pretty attractive option. However for heavy internet users, and others that simply cannot, or do not, wish to handle the reception problems or bandwidth limitations, it may be unwise to sign up to this particular option just yet. Once the kinks are worked out of the execution, mobile broadband really will come into its own as the preferred form of internet access.

the Right Card for Mobile Internet

Once deciding to purchase a Mobile Broadband Card for you laptop there are still several choices to be made. The first is: Which Carrier to get?

Since Sprint & Verizon are generally considered the leaders in this technology, we will limit the discussion to these two choices. As far as monthly pricing goes they are exactly the same, $59.99 a month. However, there is a very important distinction. Sprint offers truly Unlimited service for businesses and a 5GB limit for individuals, where Verizon has a 5GB limit per month for all customers. For the casual user this is plenty of data, but for a power user, Sprint clearly is the better choice here.

The other factor is coverage. Both carriers are going back and forth with their claims of “more coverage”. The best thing to do is check the coverage maps and see who has the most Rev A coverage in the areas you need service. Rev A is the fastest service currently available, so go with the carrier that covers you the best, but if it seems equal, Sprint would be the better choice since you do not have any usage restrictions.

Now that we have picked a carrier, it is time to decide which card to get. This involves several steps depending on what you plan to use the card for.

If using the card only in your current laptop, then determine what kind of slot your computer has. There are 3 types of slots now in use.

1) PCMCIA or Type ll Card Slot.

This slot is the size of a Credit Card and has been around for over 5 years. Most older laptops have this slot. The advantage of using this type of card is that it keeps most of the card inside the laptop, with just about an inch of the card sticking out. You can install this card once and just leave it in the laptop. As these are going away and being replaced by the smaller express slots, it is probably best to go with one of the options below unless you know you will be staying with the same computer for a few years.

2) ExpressCard Slot.

This is the newer type of card slot that is about half the width of the PCMCIA card. Most of the newer laptops will have this slot. Once again, the advantage here is that most of the card is inside the computer and you can just leave it there without risk of it getting bumped or loosing it. ExpressCards vary in price from $0 to $150 with a new agreement.

3) USB Card Slot.

Every modern computer has a USB slot. This is the main advantage of a USB Card – it will work with a new or old laptop, and even desktop computers. If you have an older laptop with a PCMCIA slot, but know you will be upgrading laptops in the next 6-18 months, then get a USB card so that you won’t limit your selection of a new laptop. The one slight downside to a USB card is that most of it is external to the computer, making it a bit more to keep track of when transporting your laptop. USB cards are usually priced from $0 to $100 with a new agreement.

Other factors to consider:

Mobile Routers.

If you want to use a Mobile Router to share your connection, currently you will want to stick with either the PCMCIA cards like the Novatel S720, with the Kyocera KR2 router. Almost all the USB and Express Cards are compatible with the CradlePoint line of routers.

GPS Functionality.

To take advantage of some neat and free GPS functions like finding the nearest restaurant, gas station, mapping your location, and even real time traffic updates, go with a Sierra Wireless Card from Sprint. The Sprint Connection Manager for these cards allows you to use this service at no extra charge.

Mobile Internet Satellite Broadband – chapter 2

We were the first beta testers of a Mobile Command Center with full Internet Access in 1999. Our mobile command center was also the first unit with WiFi and Internet Mobile Access.

The next generation of this system of Broadband Satellites was introduced in 2004. And the next wave of technology almost exists for the 10 times that speed. Looks like Moore’s Law may just apply to Satellites, however with the former practice tries by Motorola and the incompetence with the FCC we saw previously we may find that there are significant obstacle to over come still.

The biggest gripe back then was the Iridium pricing of $134.50 per month and the ridiculous cost of $1.34 per minute. Of course GlobalStar proves that they are worse at 150 per month and 1.39 per minute and International calls at $1.79. The cool thing about Inmarsat is that it is 20 years old and still has the 9.6 kbps data speed and sometimes you can get the 64 kbps. Inmarsat A is ancient and 18,000 ships have the maritime Global distress system aboard. GMDSS. If you look at most all commercial ships you will see the antennas on top that can run fax machines, Telephones and various data interfaces. Previously they ran below deck Telex systems. This system as you would guess is purely analog which has much advantages in weather conditions at sea. Inmarsat B is a whole different story with it’s digital technology, you can definitely get 64 KBPS all day long for broadcasting audio streams, video (a little jumpy), and voice and fax transmissions.

The pricing of data transmission due to speeds can save users up to 40% simply because it takes less time per minute to down and upload data. Of course the hardware runs about $ 10K, but for what it is that is not bad considering the original costs of data transmissions. Now here is the new deal Inmarsat C, two way data communications, terminals are portable and small, brief case style. Costs for terminals are only $4K approx. and everyone in the TV business has one or more. Inmarsat also has a system for voice, which needs only a little antenna of 9.3 or more inches and comes in a small dome. These were recently featured in Popular Mechanics in Nov 01. Trac Phone antennas for boats, RVs etc are expensive at $6,500 but work well. This is also known as the SatCom system mobile. It is a briefcase laptop system and is only 5 lbs. Costs only $3,000. People call it their brief case phone. It uses a SIM card for multiple users a system if you will remember never took off in the US like the smart card phones in Europe. Remember the PCS Phones had that little slide in cards, but they were too expensive for mass production in cellular technology. Inmarsat F77 is another innovation of 2001. ISDN and mobile packet data service capabilities. Delivering Fax, phone, voice and data. 64kbs, Absolutely and without a problem. Almost trouble free, this is nearly fully operational. We are almost there. This technology takes advantage of the B-GAN services that will be provided by the Inmarsat 4 being launched in 2004.

This will be cool. US Based ComSat Mobile, a division of Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications has announced it’s cooperation with Fleet F77 in the first half of 2002. Ah ha, now we are getting somewhere ? Says the people at Stratos, who are arrogant Canadians. Why is this so cool? It means that users can send and receive data but only be charged for the data sent and received. Serf the web in broadband from anywhere or even a remote log cabin on vacation, emails and web browsing for about $89.95 per month all in real time with about 2-3 second delays for distance or in another system the one we have now it will be a half second delay with even higher speeds (I will talk further about this in a minute). Internet based systems like this means we can track every ship, truck, terrorist school bus in the country real time, just like they now track all the aircraft as we saw on TV during the 9-11 act. We watched charts of the US with every single aircraft flying.

Imagine the system capabilities for efficiency, safety, storm and weather watching, and safety of our people. I am really liking this a lot and everyone in America will be safe and the President can have his missile defense program because we will be able to track everything that moves which is not cloaked and right now that is everything that we know about. We can even track stealth bombers by frequency disruption patterns from cell phones. We win. Guess what these systems have a built in safety switch so important transmissions get there first for instance a ship in high seas in trouble, DEA transmitting while profiling a smuggler, or mayday distress calls. So if you are surfing or on line sending emails it will be delayed until the safety priorities are taken care of and at those speeds and numbers of users and the forthcoming Craig McCaw’s Law I predict to replace Moore’s Law for satellites that will not be more than a nano second by 2005. In other words you will assume a solar flare or even a thunder cloud.

Orbicomm is another data source with no voice capacity and handles two-pager and alphanumeric operations using a small network of LEO Satellites. Another web site we found of interest to you if you are using any of these technologies.