Will WiFi beat the mobile broadband bandwagon—Posted on March 21, 2008

Mobile broadband suddenly seems to be the technology of the moment. Judging by the sudden rash of advertising plastered across busses and evening papers, it is as if a veil has been lifted and mobile operators can suddenly see the huge demand for a truly mobile access technology. Ericsson rates its ‘dongles’ so highly, that it has predicted the technology will spell the end of WiFi and relegate it to the broadband version of a telephone box.

There is no doubting that mobile broadband is a great way of connecting while out and about, but will it really spell the end of the ubiquitous hot-spot?

WiFi, when it popped on to the scene, was pretty impressive. Internet surfers were unshackled from their fixed-pipes and suddenly Starbucks became the de rigueur place for aspiring novelists and trendy businessmen to ply their trade. Mobile broadband, however, can do all that as well.

WiFi is wireless, but it is not mobile. That means your connection is limited to within range of the router. Mobile broadband offers much more than this. As long as you are within range of a 3G base station you can access high-speed broadband. In theory this means you can sit on a train, or in a car, or anywhere at home and still be able to check your latest company emails or eBay auction bid. In terms of pure technology, when operating properly, mobile broadband can pose a serious challenge to WiFi.

The problem with mobile broadband is that at present 3G coverage is not quite good enough to support a faultless service. There is still patchy coverage across parts of the county and this will lead to the service being slowed down or even dropped on occasions. Not great if you are hooked up to a corporate network and you have been working on a document for the past two hours – or that auction is about to close!

Pricing is a bit of an issue too. Some consumer services out there are charging a lot for monthly subscriptions to mobile broadband. Although a lot of this would be recouped as users could do away with their fixed-line broadband and some providers charge a nasty fee if you go over your usage limits and while that might be fine for a personal service, businesses should look for providers that can deliver mobile broadband as part of a wider remote working strategy. Roaming fees can also be quite high; users wishing to connect abroad should use local WiFi services to avoid nasty phone bills (especially if you are visiting the US where many WiFi hot-spots are free).

There is no doubt that mobile broadband is a very exciting technology and will be one to watch in the future. But it shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for WiFi – each technology has its place and users should spend time establishing what sort of service they actually need before they make the switch.