Comparison of wireless data standards
Introduction
A wide variety of different wireless data technologies now exist, some in direct competition with one another, others designed to be optimal for specific applications. Wireless technologies can be evaluated by a variety of different metrics described below.
Of the standards evaluated, these can be grouped as follows:
UWB, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Wireless USB are intended for use as so called Wireless PAN systems. They are intended for short range communication between devices typically controlled by a single person. A keyboard might communicate with a computer, or a mobile phone with a handsfree kit, using any of these technologies.
WiFi is the most successful system intended for use as a WLAN system. A WLAN is an implementation of a LAN over a microcellular wireless system. Such systems are used to provide wireless Internet access (and access to other systems on the local network such as other computers, shared printers, and other such devices) throughout a private property. Typically a WLAN offers much better bandwidth and latency than the user’s Internet connection, being designed as much for local communication as for access to the Internet, and while WiFi may be offered in many places as an Internet access system, access speeds are usually more limited by the shared Internet connection and number of users than the technology itself. Other systems that provide WLAN functionality include DECT and HIPERLAN.
GPRS, EDGE and 1xRTT are bolt-ons to existing 2G cellular systems, providing Internet access to users of existing 2G networks (it should be noted that technically both EDGE and 1xRTT are 3G standards, as defined by the ITU, but are generally deployed on existing networks.) 3G systems such as EV-DO, W-CDMA (including HSDPA and HSUPA) provide combined circuit switched and packet switched data and voice services as standard, usually at better data rates than the 2G extensions. All of these services can be used to provide combined mobile phone access and Internet access at remote locations. Typically GPRS and 1xRTT are used to provide stripped down, mobile phone oriented, Internet access, such as WAP, multimedia messaging, and the downloading of ring-tones, whereas EV-DO and HSDPA’s higher speeds make them suitable for use as a broadband replacement.
Pure packet-switched only systems can be created using 3G network technologies, and UMTS-TDD is one example of this. Alternatively, next generation systems such as WiMAX also provide pure packet switched services with no need to support the circuit switching services required for voice systems. WiMAX is available in multiple configurations, including both NLOS and LOS variants. UMTS-TDD, WiMAX, and proprietary systems such as Canopy are used by Wireless ISPs to provide broadband access without the need for direct cable access to the end user.
Some systems are designed for point-to-point line-of-sight communications, such as RONJA and IrDA; once 2 such nodes get too far apart to directly communicate, they can no longer communicate. Other systems are designed to form a wireless mesh network using one of a variety of routing protocols. In a mesh network, when 2 nodes get too far apart to directly communicate, they can still indirectly communicate through intermediate nodes.
Standards
The following standards are included in this comparison.
Wide Area
- iBurst:
- Flash-OFDM: FLASH(Fast Low-latency Access with Seamless Handoff)-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing)
- Wi-Fi: 802.11 standard
- WiMAX: 802.16 standard
- UMTS over W-CDMA
- UMTS-TDD
- EV-DO x1 Rev 0, Rev A, Rev B and x3 standards.
- HSPA D and U standards.
- RTT
- GPRS
- EDGE
Local Area
- Wi-Fi: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n standards.
Personal Area
Overview
| Standard | Family | Primary Use | Radio Tech | Downlink (Mbit/s) | Uplink (Mbit/s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTE | UMTS/4GSM | General 4G | OFDMA/MIMO/SC-FDMA | 360 | 80 | LTE-Advanced update to offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speeds. |
| WiMAX | 802.16 | Mobile Internet | MIMO-SOFDMA | 144 | 35 | WiMAX m update to offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speeds. |
| Flash-OFDM | Flash-OFDM | Mobile Internet mobility up to 200mph (350km/h) |
Flash-OFDM | 5.3 10.6 15.9 |
1.8 3.6 5.4 |
Mobile range 18miles (30km) extended range 34 miles (55km) |
| HIPERMAN | HIPERMAN | Mobile Internet | OFDM | 56.9 | 56.9 | |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 (11n) |
Mobile Internet | OFDM/MIMO | 288.9 (Supports 600Mbps @ 40MHz channel width) |
Antenna, RF front end enhancements and minor protocol timer tweaks have helped deploy long range P2P networks compromising on radial coverage, throughput and/or spectra efficiency (310km & 382km). | |
| iBurst | 802.20 | Mobile Internet | HC-SDMA/TDD/MIMO | 95 | 36 | Cell Radius: 3–12 km Speed: 250kmph Spectral Efficiency: 13 bits/s/Hz/cell Spectrum Reuse Factor: “1″ |
| EDGE Evolution | GSM | Mobile Internet | TDMA/FDD | 1.9 | 0.9 | 3GPP Release 7 |
| UMTS W-CDMA HSDPA+HSUPA HSPA+ |
UMTS/3GSM | General 3G | CDMA/FDD
CDMA/FDD/MIMO |
0.384 14.4 42 |
0.384 5.76 11.5 |
HSDPA widely deployed. Typical downlink rates today 2 Mbit/s, ~200 kbit/s uplink; HSPA+ downlink up to 42 Mbit/s. |
| UMTS-TDD | UMTS/3GSM | Mobile Internet | CDMA/TDD | 16 | 16 | Reported speeds according to IPWireless using 16QAM modulation similar to HSDPA+HSUPA |
| 1xRTT | CDMA2000 | Mobile phone | CDMA | 0.144 | 0.144 | Succeeded by EV-DO |
| EV-DO 1x Rev. 0 EV-DO 1x Rev.A EV-DO Rev.B |
CDMA2000 | Mobile Internet | CDMA/FDD | 2.45 3.1 4.9xN |
0.15 1.8 1.8xN |
Rev B note: N is the number of 1.25 MHz chunks of spectrum used. Not yet deployed. |
Notes: All speeds are theoretical maximums and will vary by a number of factors, including the use of external antennae, distance from the tower and the ground speed (e.g. communications on a train may be poorer than when standing still). Usually the bandwidth is shared between several terminals. The performance of each technology is determined by a number of constraints, including the spectral efficiency of the technology, the cell sizes used, and the amount of spectrum available. For more information, see Comparison of wireless data standards.
Throughput
The throughput is the data rate of the standard. The theoretical maximum throughput is the throughput rate available to a single connection under ideal circumstances. These speeds may not be achieved regularly in typical usage.
For PAN and LAN standards like WiFi these levels of performance are attainable under ideal radio conditions (that is, a complete lack of interference and at close range without obstacles). For WAN standards, though, these figures are often impractical to achieve (for instance they assume you are the only user in the cell) or are not implemented or provisioned by any providers in such a way.
The typical throughput is what users have experienced most of the time when well-within the usable range to the base station. This value is not known for the newest experimental standards. Note that these figures cannot be used to predict the performance of any given standard in any given environment, but rather as benchmarks against which actual experience might be compared.
Standard  |
Max Downlink |
Max Uplink |
Range |
Typical Downlink |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDMA RTT 1x | 0.3072 | 0.1536 | ~18 mi | 0.125 |
| CDMA EV-DO Rev. 0 | 2.4580 | 0.1536 | ~18 mi | 0.75 |
| CDMA EV-DO Rev. A | 3.1000 | 1.8000 | ~18 mi | |
| CDMA EV-DO Rev. B | 4.9000 | 1.8000 | ~18 mi | |
| GSM GPRS Class 10 | 0.0856 | 0.0428 | ~16 mi | 0.014 |
| GSM EDGE type 2 | 0.4736 | 0.4736 | ~16 mi | 0.034 |
| GSM EDGE Evolution | 1.8944 | 0.9472 | ~16 mi | |
| UMTS W-CDMA R99 | 0.3840 | 0.3840 | ~18 mi | 0.195 |
| UMTS W-CDMA HSDPA | 14.400 | 0.3840 | up to 124mi | 4.1 (Tre 2007) |
| UMTS W-CDMA HSUPA | 14.400 | 5.7600 | up to 124mi | |
| UMTS W-CDMA HSPA+ | 42.000 | 22.000 | up to 124mi | |
| UMTS-TDD | 16.000 | 16.000 | ||
| LTE | 326.4 | 86.4 | ||
| iBurst: iBurst | 24 | 8 | ~7.5 mi | >2 |
| Flash-OFDM: Flash-OFDM | 5.3 | 1.8 | ~18 mi | avg 2.5 |
| WiMAX: 802.16e | 70.000 | 70.000 | ~4 mi | >10 |
| WiFi: 802.11a | 54.000 | 54.000 | ||
| WiFi: 802.11b | 11.000 | 11.000 | ~30 meters | 2 |
| WiFi: 802.11g | 54.000 | 54.000 | ~30 meters | 10 |
| WiFi: 802.11n | 200.00 | 200.00 | ~50 meters | 40 |
- Downlink is the throughput from the base station to the user handset or computer.
- Uplink is the throughput from the user handset or computer to the base station.
- Range is the maximum range possible to receive data at 25% of the typical rate.
Latency
The latency is the time taken for the smallest packet to travel between the user terminal and base station.
Spectral use and efficiency
Frequency
Notes
- Where X/YxHz is used (eg 1.7/2.1 GHz), the first frequency is used for the uplink channels and the second for the downlink channels.
- Unlicensed frequencies vary in how they can be used. 802.11a can make use of both 802.11a-only spectrum and ISM spectrum around 5–6 GHz. A portion of the 2010 MHz spectrum is allocated to unlicensed UMTS-TDD in Europe, but cannot be used for other standards, whereas ISM bands can generally be used for any technology. This improved flexibility does have the downside that ISM bands are often over-used with incompatible, interfering, technologies.
- Unlicensed bands vary from country to country. Most have a 2.4 GHz ISM band, but other bands are only available in certain countries and non ISM bands have restrictions as noted above.
- In Europe, part of the 2 GHz 3G TDD band is designated as unlicensed, but where available is restricted to UMTS TDD operation. To date, this has been left unused and some jurisdictions are re-allocating it to licensed use only.
- AMPS/CDMA users tend to refer to 850 MHz band as 800 MHz, whereas 850 MHz is closer and is used by the GSM/UMTS community. For consistency, it is referred to here as 850 MHz.
Deployment size
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