A technology that has effectively had a profound impact on Internet connectivity is the wide spread use and coverage of wireless wide area networking, wireless broadband or mobile broadband..  Mobile broadband has been around for several years but it finally caught on as a viable means for Internet browsing and data communications with the introduction of 1.5Mbps download and 512Kbps upload bandwidth options.  Today, the cell phone carriers offer 3Mbps down and 1Mbps up bandwidth.  This is low end cable bandwidth but anywhere you go.  And it’s not just getting on anywhere it is also traveling at 60mph.

The naming of this broadband solution is somewhat misleading.  It is considered mobile technology because it is the cellular phone companies that have been offering the solution.  Recall that cell phones in the beginning were called mobile phones.  Mobile broadband has opened up a whole new area for services.

Mobile broadband bandwidth using 3G technology has opened up a new “last-mile” option.  The lowest cost for companies on the last-mile has either been cable or DSL.  The problem with DSL is that the bandwidth is dependent on distance.  The problem with cable broadband is that it is not always everywhere.  Using a 3G mobile broadband as shown below releases you from the local carrier (typically Verizon, Sprint or ATT).

If your requirements are such that your broadband connection going down impacts your business processes then a mobile broadband solution is a true viable alternative to extremely high availability.  However, if you normally require more bandwidth for your business operations then a landline like cable or DSL may be more suitable, but, you can always ensure availability with the mobile broadband connection acting as the fail safe back up.

A main benefit to provisioning the local loop as a wireless connection is provisioning lead times.  Typically, a mobile broadband service provider can configure, deliver and have your mobile broadband connection installed in 3 days.  Compare this to a landline solution like DSL which can be delayed for weeks.

For retail chains and franchises a mobile broadband local loop is ideal for point-of-sale (POS) credit card processing.  In the past many retail and franchise owners would have to collect credit card information manually and then post it later to the credit card processor.  For those of you who have had to go through this you know what a hassle and time-consuming process this can be. But mobile broadband availability and reliability rate of over 99.99% means that you can continue your business of checking out customers with assurance.

There are two basic technologies used to operate cell-phone networks: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). GSM is more popular in Europe and Asia and CDMA is more common in the United States. The major technical differences between the two systems have to do with the way each technology shares space on the radio spectrum. Without getting into the details, both GSM and CDMA use different algorithms that allow multiple cell phone users to share the same radio frequency without interfering with each other.

Mobile broadband is also known as 3G, or third-generation cell-phone technology. Both GSM and CDMA have developed their own 3G technology solutions for delivering high-speed Internet access to mobile devices.

The CDMA-based mobile broadband technology is called EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only). The trick behind EV-DO is that it runs over a part of the cellular network devoted entirely to data. Voice calls require a lot of bandwidth to maintain sound quality. By separating the data channel from the voice channel, the network can maximize data transfers and provide higher-speed access to e-mail, the Internet and multimedia. The downside is that you can't access the Internet and other data tools when talking on your cell phone. EV-DO advertises average speeds of 300-400 Kbps (kilobytes per second), the equivalent of DSL.

To use an EV-DO network, you need to either have a device that's already loaded with EV-DO hardware (like a BlackBerry or other smartphone) or a special network card that plugs into your laptop. These network cards connect via USB ports or other standard PC card slots and act as antennas for mobile broadband signals. For the fastest download and upload speeds, you need to be within range of the EV-DO cellular signal. Otherwise, you'll be bumped down to the 1xRTT (Radio Transfer Technology) standard, which broadcasts at speeds between 60 and 100Kbps.

GSM's answer to EV-DO is something called HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access). Unlike EV-DO, an HSDPA network can handle both voice and data transfers, so you can talk to mom and surf the Web at the same time. It maximizes data transfer speeds by focusing on downloading information, not uploading. HSDPA advertises average download speeds between 400 to 700 Kbps..