Understanding a Cellular Modems

So you bought a modem, and you’re not getting the speed you expected.

Yep it is unavoidable to not get that broad band speed you expected from buying a Cellular Modem and you want to learn more about what can affect your upload/download speed on the modem.   Each carrier has there own specific speeds or usage.  We will go through each and everyone one them talking about the kinds of speeds:

• EVDO — is known as Evolution-Data Optimized and is most commonly around the major city areas. It is sometimes consider 3G and is considered the fastest in the industry. Although there are always going to be debates on who is the fastest, it really doesn’t matter because of the limitations of the networks.
• GPRS — General Packet Radio Service and is also part of the 3G network but requires different frequency to acquire the signals from the tower. This is used in lower end of companies due to the fact it is easier to maintain than EVDO, but the speed is still comparable to all the other 3G family because of the interdependency of the connectivity.
• WiMAX — Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access and The technology provides up to 75 Mb/s symmetric broadband speed without the need for cables. The technology is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard (also called Broadband Wireless Access).

There are so many of them to talk but each of these can help you understand what the differences of these are and what do they mean.  My cellular modem is using EVDO from Cricket Wireless and have not had any major problems yet.   Others would use GPRS or WiMax or even the others, but it still is important in understanding each has its own speed and flaws.

So does it matter if I am I’m close to the tower?

In short yes but as long as you have a couple towers in the are it shouldn’t really matter.  You should still get the speed you thought you were going to get when need it.

Is Cellular modems really Broad band?

In truthfulness the true broad band speed is actually FIOS and Cable right now because they can handle he download and upload speed.  Most companies consider broad band to be something faster than dial-up.

So How do you get better speeds?

Each network is different, it can vary from time to time due to network congestion or if they are having problems with the network.   Some things to consider when you are getting bad speeds are updating your modem in one way or another.   You might also consider checking out your area to find all the cellular towers are and to be able to direct the modem in the right way.  You can also try to purchase a cellular antenna to better get what speeds your looking for.  That might get you some better speeds than what you were getting.

These tips and tricks will better get your speeds up on your modem.   This should also help you understand the truth behind broad band.