Prepaid Wireless Broadband - Wireless Technology & Speeds Uncovered!

Prepaid wireless broadband uses industry standard cellular technologies.  This page is dedicated to digging into details about mobile broadband speeds related to the different cellular technologies.  I've also included some legacy (i.e. old!) technologies to help with the comparison.  You'll also see information in the column of far right of the table that has notes regarding practical use.  It really is amazing how fast technology changes.  I remember when 1xRTT was considered next generation high speed wireless Internet!


At the end of the day, we can talk about prepaid wireless broadband speeds, and all kinds of technological terms, but what does it all really mean?  In other words, lets get past the technological jargon and answer the question:  "What can I do with that technology?"  Does it mean I can browse the Internet faster?  Watch YouTube videos?  Stream TV and Netflix?  I expect that you'll find the information useful in helping you to understand the practical applications.  You can also read an interesting discussion about the Definition of Broadband.


There's an amazing amount of detail that I could get into regarding the various prepaid wireless broadband technologies below.  For example, I don't go into the different technologies under 3.5G like EVDO-Rev0 versus EVDO-RevA.  My thinking is that the information here should cut through the techie details and give you the "so what" answers.  In other words, what can I do with this mobile broadband technology?  If you do, however, have questions or want more details, please don't hesitate to Contact me.

Technology Peak Downlink/ Uplink Speed Average Downlink/Uplink Speed Practical Use/Notes Dial-Up 1 Mbps 1 Mbps Email (small or no attachments) Limited Internet browsing Wired Ethernet 6 - 10 Mbps 6 - 10 Mbps Anything! 1G n/a n/a An analog technology primarily for voice No practical data application use 2G n/a n/a The first digital technology for voice No additional benefit for data applications over 1G Some basic WAP applications were available (weather, stock quotes, etc.) 3G 153 - 384 Kbps 153 - 384 Kbps Digital voice Location based services Limited Internet browsing 3.5G 2.4 - 3.1 Mbps 153 kbps - 1.8 Mbps 300 - 900 Kbps 150 - 800 Kbps Can offer simultaneous voice and data (ex. talk on the phone while browsing the Internet or sending/receiving emails) Mobile streaming TV VoIP Wi-Fi 13 - 42 Mbps 20 - 40 Mbps Two computers/devices communicating over Wi-Fi have tremendous data transfer speed (ex. music or file sharing) When used to connect to a router, which in turn is connected to wired Ethernet, or 3G cellular technologies, speed is limited to that of the cellular network WiMAX (4G) 23 - 46 Mbps 4 Mbps 768 Kbps - 6 Mbps 384 Kbps - 500 Kbps Video chat/conferencing User generated content Full broadband data LTE (4G) 173 - 326 Mbps 58 - 86 Mbps >10 Mbps >5 Mbps Same as WiMAX

Some terminology definitions that you may find helpful:

Broadband Highspeed data - In 2006 was defined as any speed of at least 256 Kbps; in 2009 broadband became redefined as data speeds of 768 Kbps or greater Downlink Also known as download speed; the speed at which your mobile device can receive data from the source/network.  Plays a large role in whether video is smooth or choppy Uplink Also known as upload speed; the speed at which your mobile device can send data to the source/network.  Telling the network what data you want can impact the user experience even if download speeds are high, because the network is slow to receive information about what to send to the mobile device Kbps Kilobytes per second - A byte is a packet of data; a kilobyte is 1,000 bytes.  Is a measure of data transfer speed Mbps Megabyte per second - A byte is a packet of data; a megabyte a million bytes or 1,000 kilobytes.  Is a measure of data transfer speed LTE Long Term Evolution - A 4G wireless broadband technology that's competitive with WiMAX MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output - When a number of antennas are used to transmit data streams from a source making the transmission speed even faster For a list of other common prepaid wireless broadband technology and industry related wireless terms, visit the Wireless Terminology page.

Click the following links to explore available prepaid wireless broadband technologies and prepaid mobile broadband plans:

Prepaid Wireless Internet (3G)

Prepaid Wi-Fi

Prepaid WiMAX (4G)

MiFi (Mobile Hotspot)

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