In science fiction it’s very simple to construct a world where global communication exists without issues. The author simply creates a handheld communication device that can talk to the starship fleet or another crew member regardless of the perils they may face on the surface of a planet. They don’t speak of the technology linking the two devices, but merely indicate they work in most conditions and can reach outside a planet’s atmosphere. In reality, we have the iPhone and the Blackberry, both stupendous achievements, but neither would help Captain Kirk fight the evils of the universe. In fact, a commander of a ship might have trouble communicating if he left his home country for that of another. In this article we take a look at the technologies driving mobile broadband on our smart phones to see just how smart everything really is.

What Wireless Standards Do We Use Today?

The phones consumers covet and buy by the truckload come attached to their own wireless providers. The telephone companies operate on a wireless band similar to a home wireless network for the Internet, but on a much grander scale. AT&T who currently services the popular iPhone in the US operates on a 3G network, or a third generation network. The network uses W-CDMA technology, while the other popular 3G network uses CDMA, with perks.

Are We Truly Connected with These Technologies in Place?

Cell phones receive their signals through the air. The signals can handle voice and data, although data signals tend to favor different technologies from the voice ones. These technologies rely on repeaters and towers within a certain vicinity of the phone’s use. This means desolate areas receive few to no bars on most modern phones. The technology behind cell phones has been improving. The antennas are able to pick up a signal through a much fainter source than they could years ago. They do this without consuming nearly as much power as previously thought, but they rely heavily on the air interface network in place. The air interface doesn’t guarantee a cell phone could receive downloads or multimedia content. Most cell phone providers have a mobile data signal running through an air interface, then a much faster, costlier interface handling the data transfers to smart phones and to laptops using broadband wireless cards. To understand the two, we’ll dig deeper into the meaning of a 3G network and the various technologies powering mobile phones.