Editing Internet access (section)

====Mobile broadband====
[[File:Mobile Broadband service mark.jpg|thumb |150px |Service mark for [[GSM Association|GSMA]] ]]
[[Mobile broadband]] is the marketing term for wireless Internet access delivered through mobile phone towers ([[cellular network]]s) to computers, [[mobile phone]]s (called "cell phones" in North America and South Africa, and "hand phones" in Asia), and other digital devices using [[portable modem]]s. Some mobile services allow more than one device to be connected to the Internet using a single cellular connection using a process called [[tethering]]. The modem may be built into laptop computers, tablets, mobile phones, and other devices, added to some devices using [[PC card]]s, [[USB modem]]s, and [[USB sticks]] or [[PC Card dongle|dongles]], or separate [[wireless modem]]s can be used.<ref name="ergen">{{cite book |title= Mobile Broadband: including WiMAX and LTE |publisher= Springer Science+Business Media |year= 2005 |author= Mustafa Ergen |isbn= 978-0-387-68189-4 |doi= 10.1007/978-0-387-68192-4 }}</ref>

New mobile phone technology and infrastructure is introduced periodically and generally involves a change in the fundamental nature of the service, non-backwards-compatible transmission technology, higher peak data rates, new frequency bands, wider channel frequency bandwidth in Hertz becomes available. These transitions are referred to as generations. The first mobile data services became available during the second generation (2G).

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left; margin-top:5px; margin-right:20px; line-height:1.2em;"
|+ style="padding-bottom:1px;" |[[2G|Second generation (2G)]]&nbsp;<span style="font-weight:normal">from 1991:</span>
|- style="font-style:italic; padding-top:1px; padding-bottom:1px; line-height:0.9em; font-size:90%;"
|  style="font-weight:normal; border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white; text-align:right;"|Speeds in&nbsp;kbit/s
! colspan=2 style="font-weight:normal; border-bottom:solid 1px #888888;" |down and up
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[Circuit Switched Data|GSM CSD]] 
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| 9.6&nbsp;kbit/s
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[Cellular digital packet data|''CDPD'']] 
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| up to 19.2&nbsp;kbit/s
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[General Packet Radio Service|GSM GPRS]] (2.5G)
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| 56 to 115&nbsp;kbit/s
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution|GSM EDGE]] (2.75G)&nbsp;
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| up to 237&nbsp;kbit/s
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left; margin-top:5px; margin-right:15px; line-height:1.2em;"
|+ style="padding-bottom:1px;" |[[3G|Third generation (3G)]]&nbsp;<span style="font-weight:normal">from 2001:</span>
|- style="font-style:italic; padding-top:1px; padding-bottom:1px; line-height:0.9em; font-size:90%;"
|  style="font-weight:normal; border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white; text-align:right;"|Speeds in&nbsp;Mbit/s
! style="font-weight:normal; border-bottom:solid 1px #888888;" |down
! style="font-weight:normal; border-bottom:solid 1px #888888;" |up
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[W-CDMA (UMTS)|UMTS W-CDMA]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|0.4&nbsp;Mbit/s
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[High Speed Packet Access|UMTS HSPA]]
|align=center | 14.4
|align=center | 5.8
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[UMTS-TDD|UMTS TDD]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; border-bottom:solid 1px #888888;"|16&nbsp;Mbit/s
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[CDMA2000|CDMA2000 1xRTT]]
|align=center | 0.3
|align=center | 0.15
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} ''[[CDMA2000|CDMA2000 EV-DO]]''
|style="border-bottom:solid 1px #888888;" |2.5–4.9
|style="border-bottom:solid 1px #888888;" |0.15–1.8
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} [[Evolved EDGE|GSM EDGE-Evolution]]&nbsp;
|align=center | 1.6
|align=center | 0.5
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left; width:auto; max-width:281px; margin-top:5px; margin-right:10px; line-height:1.3em;"
|+ style="padding-bottom:1px;" |[[4G|Fourth generation (4G)]]&nbsp;<span style="font-weight:normal">from 2006:</span>
|- style="font-style:italic; padding-top:1px; padding-bottom:1px; line-height:0.8em; font-size:90%;"
| colspan="2" style="font-weight:normal; border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white; text-align:right;"|Speeds in&nbsp;Mbit/s
! style="font-weight:normal;" |down
! style="font-weight:normal;" |up
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; background blue;"|{{·}}
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|[[HSPA+]]
| align=center |21–672
| align=center nowrap |5.8–168
|- valign=top
| style="border:solid 1px white; background:white;"|{{·}}
|  style="white-space:nowrap; border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|[[Mobile WiMAX]] (802.16)
| align=center |37–365
| align=center |17–376
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; background:white;"|{{·}}
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|[[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE]]
| align=center nowrap |100–300
| align=center |50–75
|- valign=top
| style="border:solid 1px white; background:white;"|{{·}}
| style="border:solid 1px white; background:white; border-right:inherit;"|[[LTE-Advanced]]:
|  style="text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;" colspan="2"|&nbsp;
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; background:white;"|&nbsp;
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} moving at higher speeds
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|100&nbsp;Mbit/s
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; background:white;"|&nbsp;
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|{{·}} not moving or moving at lower speeds
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|up to 1000&nbsp;Mbit/s
|-
| style="border:solid 1px white; background:white;"|{{·}}
| style="border:solid 1px white; border-right:inherit; background:white;"|''[[IEEE 802.20|MBWA]] (802.20)''
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|80&nbsp;Mbit/s
|}
{{clear|both}}
The download (to the user) and upload (to the Internet) data rates given above are peak or maximum rates and end users will typically experience lower data rates.

[[WiMAX]] was originally developed to deliver fixed wireless service with wireless mobility added in 2005. CDPD, CDMA2000 EV-DO, and MBWA are no longer being actively developed.

In 2011, 90% of the world's population lived in areas with 2G coverage, while 45% lived in areas with 2G and 3G coverage.<ref name=ITU-ITCFacts>[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/facts/2011/material/ICTFactsFigures2011.pdf "The World in 2011: ITC Facts and Figures"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510070621/http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/facts/2011/material/ICTFactsFigures2011.pdf |date=2012-05-10 }}, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva, 2011</ref>

[[5G]] was designed to be faster and have lower latency than its predecessor, 4G. It can be used for mobile broadband in smartphones or separate modems that emit WiFi or can be connected through USB to a computer, or for fixed wireless.