Wireless broadband used to be all the rage, but things are changing fast, and it seems a lot more people are starting to embrace the mobile broadband internet.

Personally, I believe it is only a matter of time before mobile broadband becomes the most used and the most reliable way to access the internet, and I also think it is a lot better than wireless broadband.

In this article I will be giving you my opinion on wireless broadband vs. mobile broadband.

Portability

The first factor to consider when trying considering wireless broadband vs. mobile broadband is the portability.

Everybody knows the wireless internet for being the most portable form of internet connection, but things are changing faster than we can imagine.

There are now mobile broadband dongles almost as small as a flash disk, and that can be used without anybody noticing that you are connected to the internet.

One great mobile device that is making things even easier is the Mi-fi modem that makes it easy for you to connect other devices to your mobile internet wirelessly.

When it comes to portability, I think mobile broadband rocks!

Security

Another factor to be considered when trying to compare mobile broadband to wireless broadband is the security.

We all know clearly that the wireless broadband is full of security flaws, and the good news is that this has been improved with mobile broadband.

If you’re connecting to the internet wirelessly you should expect your computer and internet to be hacked anytime due to the fact that anybody with a wireless device/scanner can detect it.

However, if you’re connecting to the mobile internet through a small dongle, you don’t have to be restricted to a spot due to the size of the modem, and you also don’t need to worry about security since nobody can access your network.

Price

Price is a major factor that needs to be considered when it comes to using the internet and I believe you shouldn’t have to pay a fortune just to enjoy the internet.

As far as price is concerned, wireless internet access is more expensive than mobile internet.

The reason for this is that with mobile internet you can use your mobile modem wherever you are, but with wireless internet you can only use a network when within its location.

Most coffee shops and public centers charge you up to $20 a day to use their wireless internet, whereas, you only need to pay a little over $100 a month to use the mobile internet wherever you want.

Availability

The final thing you should consider when trying to decide whether to go mobile broadband or wireless broadband is the availability.

Mobile broadband is available everywhere if you have the right ISP, but wireless internet is only available within a region. In other words, you can easily use your mobile broadband service in another city or state, but you can only use your wireless internet within your vicinity.

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4. How To Increase Your Wireless Range With A Wireless Repeater

Is Mobile Broadband Taking Over Wireless Broadband? is a post from: Technically Easy
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Besides the added benefit of being able to connect using the 802.11n standard, the Linksys E4200 wireless router has a few additional features that were available on my previous wireless router. After I got the router up and running, I began to explore some of the additional features to see how well they worked. Considering this is one of Cisco’s top performance home wireless routers, I expected big things from it.

Setting Up the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

The package contents were basically the standard items: the Linksys E4200 wireless router, a power cable, a network cable, and a CD containing the Cisco Connect software. I haven’t used any software that came with any of my routers in the past, so I really couldn’t see myself using this one. Although I may explore the software in the near future, for reasons you will read later.

The router itself is smaller than my previous WRT54G router. While the width and length is about the same, the Linksys E4200 is slimmer, and there are no antennae sticking out from the top. This means that when I reach behind my desktop, I don’t have to worry about knocking into them.

The setup of the router was pretty straight forward, and I set it up manually as I usually do. I basically logged into the router’s dashboard through my Web browser and configured the security settings for the wireless network.

The dashboard, while it has change slightly from the WRT54G, basically looks the same, which made it easy for me to find my way around. The biggest change that I say while I configured my wireless network was the fact that you can create two separate wireless networks – one for 5 GHz, and a second for 2.4 GHz. Since this router is dual-band, devices can connect to the router on either frequency at the same time.

Since I only wanted to manage one network, I changed the settings for both the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands to be identical. Doing this didn’t cause a problem, and I was able to connect both wireless-N and wireless-G devices to the different frequencies without any problems.

The one thing that bothers me about the Linksys routers is the inability to change the dashboard user ID. You can change the password easily, but the actual user ID you use to log into the dashboard can’t be changed from being blank. I have seen other routers that provide this ability, and I hope that Cisco will change this for future routers.

Router Performance

So far, I have been pleased with the speed of the router. I have a hard-wired desktop connected directly into the Linksys E4200 router, and it seems faster when downloading from the Internet. Although I haven’t done an actual speed test, the computer seems more responsive overall.

A wireless-N laptop connects to the router at faster than the 54 Mps rating of a wireless-G connection. Although, the one aspect that I am disappointed with is the range the router has. From the opposite side of the house, the laptop connects with 3 out of 5 bars within Windows 7. The WRT54G router connected with the same number of bars, so there really isn’t an improvement in the connection range with the Linksys E4200. I am a little disappointed in this as I thought I would have a better connection to the router, and because of this I my connection speed is 74 Mbps. This is still better, however, than what I would have received from the WRT54G at 5 bars.

Linksys E4200 External Hard Drive Connection

The Linksys E4200 wireless router includes a USB port on the back next to the ethernet ports. This allows you to connect an external hard drive to the router and then share the data on the hard drive to the computers that are connected to the router.

While this is a huge selling point for me, it was a nice feature that I was looking forward to trying. As I don’t have a NAS (network attached storage) device, having the Linksys E4200 router and my external hard drive act as one was a nice bonus.

After setting up my router, I connected an external hard drive into the router and the router immediately identified the drive. I was able to setup user IDs and shares for the hard drive so I could connect to the hard drive from other computers. When I tried to map to a share on the hard drive, my desktop couldn’t connect to the share. I also tried to connect to the share from a laptop, and it, too, couldn’t connect. I decided to wait a few days and try again.

The next time I tried, the Linksys E4200 wireless router couldn’t even detect the external hard drive, so I couldn’t even manage the shares. I unplugged the hard drive and plugged it back into the router, but the router still couldn’t find the hard drive.

I saw read about a few people online that have also had this issue, so it appears to be a common problem. With the latest firmware update, you can also connect a printer to the router using the same USB port. I haven’t tried this, and from what I have read, you need to use the Cisco Connect software to get the printer sharing to work.

Linksys E4200 – Pros

• Dual band (2.4 and 5 Ghz) that allows you to connect to either band to avoid interference.
• Ability to setup a separate network for each band.
• Easy to configure – dashboard very similar to previous Linksys routers.
• Connected to my ISP without any problems.
• Connected wireless-G and wireless-N devices without any problems.
• Lower profile – no antennae sticking out from the top.

Linksys E4200 – Cons

• No ability to change the router’s user ID.
• The range isn’t much better than my 6 year old router.
• Couldn’t get an external hard drive to connect to the router.

With the exception of the external hard drive issue, I find the Linksys E4200 wireless router to be a good router. I was disappointed in the range of the router, but I do like the dual-band feature, and I had no issues with connecting any device to the router. If you can get the Linksys E4200 wireless router for a good price, I suggest you pick one up.

See larger image Cisco-Linksys E4200 Dual-Band Wireless-N Router (Electronics) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: Check Amazon For Pricing In Stock Used from: $125.00 In Stock

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4. How to Reset the Linksys WRT160N Wireless-N Router

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While I haven’t experienced this error, a quick search online has revealed that it can be a common error to receive when connecting to a wireless network. When solving errors that you receive after making changes, it is important to understand what changes you have made, and how they would affect your wireless connection. While everyone’s wireless network configuration may be different, let’s look at the possible changes that could cause the above error.

Computer Settings Don’t Match the Wireless Network.

There are many settings that you can change within your wireless router. Most routers contain the same settings, such as security type, and encryption algorithm, and it is important that when you change these settings that you also change them within your operating system.

When changing the settings on your wireless network, you must ensure that the settings in your router match those in your operating system. As I mentioned above, all wireless networks will have different settings, but the following list are some settings that you should ensure match between your operating system and your network:

• Ensure that the DHCP settings match. Most home networks would have this set to automatic.
• The security type (WEP, WPA, WPA2) is set properly. For most home users the WPA/WPA2 type will probably be set to “Personal.”
• The encryption algorithm (AES, TKIP) is set properly. Like the security type, this setting can be found within your router.
• The passphrase associated with your wireless network was entered properly in your operating system when connecting to your network.

The above list probably contains the most common settings that could cause an issue when attempting to connect to your wireless network. Ensuring that the settings defined within your wireless router match the network settings defined within the operating system will ensure that you don’t have any connectivity issues.

See larger image Cisco-Linksys E4200 Dual-Band Wireless-N Router (Electronics) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: Check Amazon For Pricing In Stock Used from: $125.00 In Stock

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• Better Header Format: Unlike its predecessor, IPv6 has a fixed header. It is more simplified than the IPv4 header, contains 2 128 bit addresses (a source and a destination), and has a fixed length of 40 bytes. Why is this important – faster processing! Any options usually managed within the IP address itself are now managed by extension headers which materialize after the header.
• 128 Bits: If you are not in the know, the 128 bit address basically means IPv6 should be the final iteration of the evolution of the IP address. Based on the structure of the address, there are literally trillions of combinations so the world should never be without IP again. Basically, 2 to the 32 power addresses can be created with IPv4 and 2 to the 128 power can be created with IPv6. This is also important for web based internet services that require multiple IP connections or static bridged connections to facilitate constant connectivity to the source. With more and more applications going to complete web and handheld “smartphone” integration, this 128 bit structure is a godsend.
• ICMPv6: This is like the old ICMP on steroids with much of the functionality already built in. With functions like Auto configuration, Secure Neighbor Discovery (SEND), Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD), and Multicast Router Discovery (MRD) add a new dimension to error reporting and diagnostic functions unheard of before.
• QoS: Give your router a glass of water and a towel, because it’s going to work a bit harder. The new headers will contain a label field which will identify packet flow for QoS management by your router.
• Looks: This is not really technically important but if you are curious what an IPv6 looks like, here is an example: 1828:9hg7:78a4:85a7:2323:34hh:1200:3231 – how about that? As a comparison, here is an IPv4 address 216.239.51.99 (look it up, it’s Google’s).

This is just an overview of the new format so please, due diligence protocols state that you should learn as much as you can about IPv6. If you are an IT director, your day of change is coming! Just be sure to embrace it. The new protocol will make any secure VPN you are setting up easier to build and deploy, it’s just the learning curve that may take a bit of patience.

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A wireless repeater is a networking device for computers that can be used to improve wireless reception. It stands alone and should be placed within a specific range of a computer and a wireless router. A router is the main access point for wireless networking, and a repeater simply serves as a messenger between the computer and the router.

Extending Distance With a Wireless Repeater

Wireless repeaters are also known as range expanders, because they extend the range of wireless signals by amplifying the frequency. Wireless signals can only travel limited distances, and they often do not reach their destination. A range extender sits between the computer and the router and catches the signals. It amplifies and repeats the signals to the destination device.

A repeater can be used when the computer and wireless access points are positioned too far away from each other to be effective. The range expander allows you to extend the signal range without adding any wires. When placed halfway between the computer and the router, a repeater will give your signal strength an instant boost.

Using a Wireless Repeater at Home

Because many people have several computers in their homes, wireless networking has become a necessity. In general, the wireless range within a building is very limited. Wireless networks typically span only a few rooms. If you need to cover a large distance and do not want to pay a steep price for boosting performance, a wireless repeater is the solution. This special unit is designed to extend wireless capabilities to other floors, and it may even allow you to work wirelessly outside.

When it comes to purchasing the most effective wireless repeaters, there are some things to consider. Compatibility is essential when choosing a range expander. Some extenders are designed to work with specific brands, while others work with nearly any system. Wireless repeaters also have specific ratings. These ratings should match the ratings stated on your wireless router.

Wireless repeaters are essential tools for creating signals in areas where there may be little or no reception. By carefully positioning a wireless repeater in between your computers and router, you can easily extend your network signal, improve your internet connection, and boost your wireless network’s performance.

See larger image Linksys RE1000 Wireless-N Range Extender (Personal Computers) List Price: $89.99 USD New From: $79.00 In Stock Used from: $70.00 In Stock

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4. Why You Should Secure Your Wireless Network

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