WiMAX, WiFi etc.: Beware of Mobile Broadband
Phew! My new job does not leave me with much energy for blogging - but it did provide me with the opportunity to have sort of an epiphany this week: Mobile broadband (HSDPA aka Turbo 3G) is serious competition to WiMAX, hotspot providers, and other network connectivity technologies for "on the go".
The occasion was a product presentation in another part of country. Basically as I walked out the door of the office my boss threw me this dongle from "3" and told me to use it if I wanted to do some work on the train. I did, and I have to say it is one of the most hassle-free pieces of technology I have used in a long time. Not only that, network coverage is great her in Denmark (on their website, "3" claim to cover 84% of the population) - I used the dongle on a 2 hour car ride (as passenger) and a 2 hour train journey and I do not remember losing the signal once. Yes, the quality of the signal varied, but I never lost it and it never became intolerably slow (unlike GPRS).
Basically, you just plug it in; the dongle comes with drivers onboard that start installing as you plug it in and once the installation is over (plus when you subsequently plug in the dongle), a small app starts where you just press a "connect" button. Wham! - you are online using the same HSDPA network as your mobile phone.
Currently employers seem to be giving away these dongles like candy - someone even gave my dad one - after using one myself, I have started noticing their ubiquitous presence in meetings, on busses and trains etc. They seem to be dangling from hands and laptops everywhere…
Network coverage combined with the ease-of-use/convenience is what I think makes Mobile Broadband such a fierce competitor to other technologies like WiMAX and WiFi hotspots. WiMAX is still an emerging technology (and I think a service provider like ClearWire here in Denmark could be in trouble getting a foothold) and if you subscribe to a hotspot service like TDC or The Cloud - or use hotspots in hotels, train stations, airports and the like - coverage is very…well…spotty, plus access is somewhat cumbersome. You always seem to have to sign up at some gateway website - to get hold of an account, encryption key etc. - plus possibly pay. In my experience Danish hotels in general do not provide free WiFi to guests.
Obviously, Mobile Broadband transfer rates differ from those of WiMAX or WiFi. The theoretical maximum download rate using the dongle is 7.2 mbps, but the "3" website tells users to expect rates between 2 and 5.5 mbps. That is significantly lower than the rates that can be achieved on 55 mbps/802.11g - or even 11 mbps/820.11b - WLANs, but it is still *sufficient* for most of the stuff you do while being on the road. Also, when Danish "3" CEO Morten Christiansen presented "3's" HSDPA 3G network at the first meeting of Mobil Monday Denmark in June 2007, he proclaimed rates of up to 40 mbps to be within reach.
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