Wireless Broadband (WiBB) service is a high-speed internet service where the data is transferred through a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) or a WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network). In a WWAN network, the high-speed internet is provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) directly to the modem or the device of the consumer.
Also, in the context of a WWAN, it is generally called a broadband network as a reference to its high-speed internet. Since the FCC has defined that a broadband network should have a speed of 25 Mbps or above, a WWAN with a speed higher than 25 Mbps is referred to as wireless broadband.
Types of Wireless Broadband
Fixed Wireless Broadband: In a fixed wireless broadband network, the connected devices are somewhat fixed in one place, such as in an office or an institute. The services are similar to that of a DSL connection; however, here instead of copper cables, Fixed WiBB uses a wireless network.
Mobile Wireless Broadband: A Mobile WiBB provides high-speed internet to a network of randomly located mobile phones through a wireless network. An example of mobile wireless broadband is a cellular broadband network.
Cellular Wireless Broadband
In a cellular wireless broadband connection, high-speed internet is provided to the consumer by a telecom company or by a cellular network provider. Here, the data is transferred and received by a base station and it transmits the data wirelessly directly to the devices of the consumers such as their modem or the mobile phone.
A cellular network can have its own advantages and disadvantages such as the modems for a cellular wireless network can be very cheap and they work very effectively except for rural areas where the network may not be as strong as it should be. The network can go slow with the increase in the number of users in an area as well with a cellular wireless broadband connection.
WiMAX – Another Type Of Wireless Broadband
WiMAX is a wireless network similar to that of a Wi-Fi network but it uses a different technology. Here, the devices that are connected to a WiMAX network are known as subscribers. WiMAX covers more area than a Wi-Fi network and is faster than a 3G network; however, it is slower than a 4G network. WiMAX may still be in use in some metropolitan area networks such as in an industry or an airport.
Also Read: What is Fibre Broadband
