Difference betwenn Mobile broadband and Wireless broadband??

Mobile Broadband

1. Mobile Broadband provides access to the internet from anywhere if the mobile network coverage is
available.
2. A 3G SIM card is inserted into a USB modem and plugged in to the computer to gain internet access
wirelessly.
3. Mobile Broadband modem can be used to gain internet access to only one computer.
4. In UK mobile broadband service is offered at a minimum speed of 1Mbps to a maximum of 14.4Mbps.
5. This connection is safe as it is connected from behind a firewall from the ISP, however users can install
firewall software in their computer.

Wireless Broadband

1. Wireless Broadband is a simple home network that can provide access within a maximum range of 50m
from the wireless router.
2. A cable broadband connection is plugged in to a wireless router which provides wireless internet access
to multiple users.
3. Wireless Routers are used to share a single broadband connection by multiple users.
4. The speed of the wireless broadband depends on the speed of the cable internet connection which is
offered to a maximum of 50Mbps.
5. All the wireless routers have an inbuilt firewall and are also protected by WPA and WEP network keys
and can restrict private access.

1. ADSL is asymmetric while SDSL is symmetric

2. The upload and download speeds of SDSL are equal while that of ADSL are not

3. ADSL can have a telephone unit on the same line while SDSL cannot

4. ADSL is a standardized technology while SDSL is proprietary and was never standardized

5. ADSL is the current technology used today while SDSL is considered as legacy technology

There are basically two types of DSL techniques

-
Asymmetric DSL: ADSL, RADSL, VDSL are types of Asymmetric DSL
Symmetric DSL: SDSL, HDSL, SHDSL are types of Symmetric DSL

Difference between DSL and other Internet Services

Internet Service Upstream Speed Downstream Speed

DSL 128 Kbps to 384 Kbps 3 Mbps to 6 Mbps
Dial Up 56 Kbps 56 Kbps
Cable 768 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps 8 Mbps to 16 Mbps
Satellite 128 Kbps to 256 Kbps 512 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps
Wireless 128 Kbps to 768 Kbps 384 Kbps to 2.0 Mbps
As we already know, ADSL is one type of DSL technique. To get a brief overview of the various DSL
techniques, refer to the box given below.

Type of DSL Upstream Speed Downstream Speed Distance Limit

ADSL - Asymmetric DSL 16 Kbps to 640 Kbps 1.5 Mbps to 6.1 Mbps 9,000 feet to 18,000 feet
VDSL - Very High Speed DSL 1.5 Mbps to 2.3 Mbps 1.6 Mbps to 52.8 Mbps 1000 feet to 4500 feet
HDSL - High Data Rate DSL 1.544 Mbps 2.048 Mbps 12,000 feet
SDSL - Symmetric DSL 1.544 Mbps to 2.048 Mbps 1.544 Mbps to 2.048 Mbps 12,000 feet
RADSL - Rate Adaptive DSL 272 Kbps to 1.088 Mbps 640 Kbps to 202 Mbps 9,000 feet to 18,000 feet

What is SHDSL?

Like ADSL, SHDSL provides the ability to use a normal telephone line to connect to the Internet at high speeds.

However, unlike ADSL which only provides high speed download, but slower upload speeds, SHDSL provides
the same high speed in each direction. SHDSL can provide upload speeds of over 10 times faster than
AlwaysONLINE ADSL services.

SHDSL is ideal for offices needing to send files, host video content, or be accessed via remote desktop sessions
from smaller offices or teleworker

What is VDSL ?

VDSL is deployed over ordinary phone lines, which makes it a much cheaper option for upgrading than fibre
optics or new experimental methods that require power lines.

VDSL2 looks promising with possible bandwidths of up to 30MHz that will enable data transfer rates of up to
100Mbps for both up and down streaming.

This has some exciting prospects for high quality video, such as HDTV, on the Net. In addition, the seven
different frequency bands used by VDSL means users can customise their upload and download rates.

Wireless Router configures???

Now we can start to configure wireless router, and I will use Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router as an example.
This router supports 802.11g and backward compatible with 802.11b standard. The authentications supported are
WEP, WPA/WPA2 authentication with pre-shared key or RADIUS server. In case you plan to get a new router, I
recommend you to get one of these wireless routers.
Read the router manual before starting to configure it. This is useful for you to understand the router features and
how to configure it. If the manual is not came together with router, you can download it from vendor website.

Sometimes the vendor will prepare some quick setup wizard to expedite router configuration, but I’m not going
to explain this method here. I will explain some important and common setting which will be found in most of
the wireless routers from different vendors, so you can use wizard to start the installation and then check out the
details here.

Also register your product at vendor website if possible. You will be notified of firmware update, security alert
and also product related information.
Open your popular web browser (Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape Communicator), then type
http://192.168.1.1 and press "Enter". This IP address is factory default IP assigned to the router, you will be
able to find it in wireless router manual. That’s why I said it’s important to read the manual.

You need to set computer with the IP sits in the network same as wireless router, so you can only access and
configure it. In this scenario, I set computer IP as 192.168.1.10 (you can set 192.168.1.X, X= number between 2
and 254), netmask as 255.255.255.0 and gateway as 192.168.1.1.

After that, the logon screen will pop up, type in default user and password you found in router manual also. You
will then log on to the router web-management page.

Here are the router settings that similar to wired network router.

WAN (Wide Area Network) Setting

First go to Setup tab and click Basic Setup, this is the place you set public IP address provided by your ISP in
order to access Internet. It can be one of these 5 options:

Automatic Configuration – DHCP - Choose this option to obtain an IP address automatically from your ISP.
(For most cable modem users). Optionally key in a name for this router. The default MAC address is set to the
WAN’s MAC address on the router.

Sometimes you will need to clone MAC address under MAC Address Clone tab. This feature is required by
cable modem users with the service registration via computer network card’s MAC address. That means
the ISP will authenticate your network card’s MAC address whenever you use the connection service. If so, you
will need to click clone MAC address in order to clone the computer network card’s MAC address to your
network router. If you are not sure, check with your ISP technical support. Click here to check MAC address of
network card.

Static IP - Choose this option to set static IP information provided to you by your ISP. You will required to type
in all network information manually if select this option. This option is mostly used by business users. Lot of
works if use this option, try to avoid this if possible.

PPPoE - Choose this option if your ISP uses PPPoE. Your ISP will provide you with a username and password.
This option is typically used for most DSL services.

PPTP - Same as PPPoE, This option is mostly used by DSL service users with provided username, password
and IP information.

L2TP - This option is mostly used by DSL service users is Europe with provided username, password and L2TP
server information.

Telstra Cable: This option is mostly used by DSL service users with provided username, password and Heart
Beat server information.

As a cable modem user, I will choose Automatic Configuration – DHCP option. I won't clone MAC address
because the service registration is tied to cable modem's MAC address.
LAN (Local Area Network) Setting

At the same setup page, set up the IP address for the router. This will be the router/gateway IP address that you
will set on your network computers. The LAN IP address is private in your home network and cannot be seen
from the internet. I set my router with IP 192.168.1.1 and subnet mask 255.255.255.0.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Setting

Most of the routers has built-in DHCP server, so does this router. The DHCP server will automatically assign an
IP address to the computers in your wireless network. At the same setup page, you must specify the starting IP
address, number of users and lease time. Lease time is the length of time for the IP assigned to the computer.

For my case, the starting IP Address is 192.168.1.2, maximum dhcp users is 50 and I set the Lease Time for 1
day (0 minutes).

SSID and Other Basic Wireless Setting

Now click Wireless tab and you will see Basic Wireless Settings. These are unique features for wireless router,
it’s not available for those wired routers:
Wireless Network Mode – 3 wireless operating modes are supported, it can be 802.11b (B only), 802.11g (G
only) or both (Mixed). I select Mixed, so that wireless client with 802.11b or 802.11g wireless network adapter
can join the network.

Wireless Network Name (SSID) – The SSID is the network name of this wireless network and must be
identical for all devices in the network. When wireless clients first start up, they scan the wireless frequency
band for special beacon frames that content SSID sent by wireless routers or access points, finally connect to the
network that preferred by users.

SSID is case-sensitive and must not exceed 32 alphanumeric characters. Change it and don’t use default SSID
due to security concern. I set it as home-network.

Wireless Channel - There are 13 wireless channels (1-13) supported. All devices in your wireless network must
use the same channel in order to function correctly. I select 13.

Wireless SSID Broadcast - If you enabled this feature, the router will broadcast SSID and would be detected by
wireless clients in the network. For security concern, I would recommend you to disable it.

Wireless Network Authentication

Although wireless client can join wireless network without authentication, but it’s dangerous! So please set
authentication on wireless router, so that wireless client can only join the network after successful authentication.
This router supports legacy WEP and WPA/WPA2 authentication with pre-shared key or RADIUS server.

Usually home users will use WEP, WPA personal or WPA2 personal security mode. WPA/WPA2 features are
only available on 802.11g router, whereas WEP is the only authentication feature supported by 802.11b router.

Use WPA personal or WPA2 personal mode if supported by your wireless adapter. You need to supply pre-
shared key for authentication. Choose AES as your WPA or WPA2 algorithm.

You can only use WPA-enterprise or WPA2-enterprise if you have set up RADIUS server. This is the
WPA/WPA2 authentication with RADIUS server instead of pre-shared key .

If your network card is 802.11b standard, you need to choose WEP option, then set passphrase with 64 and 128
bits encryption.

You can leave group key as it is. This settings determines how often your group key changes.
Since my wireless network card can support WPA2, I use following setting.

You don't have to follow all settings I used above, you can also tune the wireless router as according to your
needs.

One last thing that I would like to tell you, if you wish to connect all home computers to access to Internet via
this router, please select Gateway mode in Setup->Advanced Routing page and save the setting. If another
router exists on your network, then you can select Router mode.