Wi-Fi vs 4G

[macedo]

I'm a curently taking a degree on Eletronics and Computer Engineering and got an assignment on which I'm supposed to do a "Technical Comparison" between Wi-Fi and 4G. The big problem is that my knowledge is very limited because classes have only started 2 weeks ago and that the theme of my assignment doesn't really have to do with the area of my degree I want to persue (this degree has a masters included in the 3rd year and the sudent has to decide which area he wants to pursue, I want automation and this assignment has to do with TeleCom). 

 

After searching I've came to the conclusion that the information on google isn't indepth enough and that the information found in more specialize search engines (such as engineering village) are too indepth or someone like me to understand. 

 

I just wanted for the guys who are "in the know" of this subjects to give me a little help with the best places to find this kind of information or even give me their own opinion.

 

Will be glad for any help I get!

 

 

[babadoctor]

just a quick note

5G (newer gen of 4G, not 5g wifi) is coming out, it can reach speeds of 1GBPS

ONE GIGABIT PER SECOND

COMPARED TO 4G'S 100MBPS

thats just whack

[Coombzy]

just a quick note

5G (newer gen of 4G, not 5g wifi) is coming out, it can reach speeds of 1GBPS

ONE GIGABIT PER SECOND

COMPARED TO 4G'S 100MBPS

thats just whack

I'd look at 5G tests again, 5G is expected to be 10-50 GBPS not 1 GBP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31622297

[Ekpyrosis]

just a quick note

5G (newer gen of 4G, not 5g wifi) is coming out, it can reach speeds of 1GBPS

ONE GIGABIT PER SECOND

COMPARED TO 4G'S 100MBPS

thats just whack

1Gbit/s is already there in South Korea, without 5G.

[Stefan1024]

A little overview:

New WiFi standarts uses OFDM for modulation, like 5G (and I'm pretty sure 4G does use that technology).

Due to the shorter range of Wi-Fi it will allways be faster than the mobile standart.

However the Wi-Fi access point needs a good connection to the outer world (e.g. internet) to be usefull. Nowadays the backbone system of the mobile nwtwork is much better than for most Wi-Fi acccess points.

You have to search for range, link speed, latency, cost and so on for the two texhnilogies independently. Afterwards you can compare. Sice the two are made for complete different use cases you will have a hard time fund a direct comparison.

[BrightCandle]

The performance is far more about the amount of spectrum assigned than anything else. 5Ghz wifi gets just 11 channels so its extremely limited compared to the assigned lte bands.I dont know where you go fot a comparison of encoding and technology but you can look up the frequencies and range expectations from the regulator.

[dzonidev]

-snip-

 

The question is in my opinion a little superficial and the answer can only be as good as the question.

First of all both technologies have standards, 4G has LTE and WiMAX (among others), WiFi is based on IEEE 802.11. 4G runs on 800Mhz - 2600Mhz and WiFi runs on 2400Mhz - 5000Mhz. Both are wireless networks, as you can imagine. Both use radio channels in the range of 20-40Mhz with the exception of 4G which can run on 5Mhz, both benefit from utilizing MiMO. 4G has a better range WiFi can go faster.

 

And that's about it.

[skywake]

In the end it comes down to bandwidth and frequency. With 4G they tend to run at lower frequencies and as such have longer ranges. Often you'll see telcos run their towers on two bands with one in the 700-900Mhz range and another in the 2.2-2.6Ghz range. The lower frequency band is the one that you connect to when you're far away from the tower. They also tend to only go upto 20Mhz in terms of the amount of bandwidth you get. And because it's longer range you tend to have more people on the single tower. However there is an advantage in that these frequencies are generally reserved specifically for the use of that service provider. Unlike WiFi which is public.

 

With WiFi there is a tendency to run at higher frequencies which means shorter ranges. On the 2.4Ghz band (2.4-2.5Ghz) there are a lot of similarities with the higher frequency version of 4G right down to the fact that it typically uses upto ~20Mhz of bandwidth. It can go upto 40Mhz but often it'll drop back to 20Mhz if there is any other AP in the same area. Which is likely because, unlike 4G, it's spectrum that's open for anyone to use. And there are really only three 20Mhz blocks available to use. However WiFi can also use the 5Ghz band (4.9-5.8Ghz) which is shorter range yet again. Effectively useless for anything but very local connections which isn't an issue for small areas. And because that spectrum is so open and so broad they can use upto 160Mhz.

 

Of course how this all translates into speed depends for end users depends on what sort of load is on the network. A general rule of thumb would be to say that 4G can run about as fast as wireless N if you have a good signal and there's not a lot of traffic. So basically upto around about 75Mbps. But WiFi on the 5Ghz band can easily be a good 5x faster than that assuming you have the device to support it.

 

tl;dr
4G: Long range, reserved spectrum, more users

WiFi: Short range, public spectrum, less users

[Nuluvius]

just a quick note

5G (newer gen of 4G, not 5g wifi) is coming out, it can reach speeds of 1GBPS

ONE GIGABIT PER SECOND

COMPARED TO 4G'S 100MBPS

thats just whack

[skywake]

yeah, marketing and lab tests != actual performance. And the fact that people buy into that and quote it as the gospel truth. They both definitely have that in common  

[macedo]

A little overview:

New WiFi standarts uses OFDM for modulation, like 5G (and I'm pretty sure 4G does use that technology).

Due to the shorter range of Wi-Fi it will allways be faster than the mobile standart.

However the Wi-Fi access point needs a good connection to the outer world (e.g. internet) to be usefull. Nowadays the backbone system of the mobile nwtwork is much better than for most Wi-Fi acccess points.

You have to search for range, link speed, latency, cost and so on for the two texhnilogies independently. Afterwards you can compare. Sice the two are made for complete different use cases you will have a hard time fund a direct comparison.

Thank you so much, that was really what I was looking for. Once again, thanks!

[macedo]

The question is in my opinion a little superficial and the answer can only be as good as the question.

First of all both technologies have standards, 4G has LTE and WiMAX (among others), WiFi is based on IEEE 802.11. 4G runs on 800Mhz - 2600Mhz and WiFi runs on 2400Mhz - 5000Mhz. Both are wireless networks, as you can imagine. Both use radio channels in the range of 20-40Mhz with the exception of 4G which can run on 5Mhz, both benefit from utilizing MiMO. 4G has a better range WiFi can go faster.

 

And that's about it.

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll ask the professor which standard of 4G he wants us to compare against Wi-Fi.

[Stefan1024]

Thank you so much, that was really what I was looking for. Once again, thanks!

You are wellcome!