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Wireless 101
By Staff, posted 9/8/2003 4:48:06 PM

Every time you turn around these days, it seems someone is slinging the word "wireless" at you like it's supposed to mean something.

Since the word has several meanings, following is a quick guide to the various worlds of wireless:

Cellular wireless

When you hear the word "wireless" on its own, it's is probably being used to refer to cellular phone technology --especially the ability of these new devices to send and receive data (email, text messages, and even Web surfing) in addition to making voice calls.

It doesn't matter whether you're using an actual cell phone or a cellular modem, because both can send and receive data. Trying to view data (Web pages or longer email messages) can be less than ideal on a tiny telephone screen, though.

Most Canadian cellular networks have been upgraded recently to "high speed," which means they can move more data faster. But high-speed, in this case, realistically means about 56 kilobits per second, roughly the same speed as the fastest dial-up connections using a telephone. There's talk of broadband connections over cellular, but it's not here quite yet.

There are two major types of high-speed cellular wireless in North America:

CDMA 1x

The Code Division Multiple Access standard is more popular in North America than in the rest of the world, but here the networks are pretty prevalent; the 1x refers to the upgraded high-speed-capable data network. These phones come with built-in identification information, which means changing your number is a bit more complicated.

Both Bell and Telus use the CDMA 1x network.

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service is more popular worldwide -- especially in Asia and Europe -- but it's worth noting that North American GPRS devices often use different radio frequencies and are often only partially compatible with other GPRS networks around the world. cell 1

GPRS devices use a user-replaceable SIM card for identification. Activation of a phone is typically as simple as changing SIM cards, which makes changing your number extremely easy, and it allows you to share one cell phone account among several different devices.

Both Rogers and Fido use a GPRS network.