Digiweb Mobile Broadband anyway to improve speed.

Psygnosis

Hi,
I have digiweb Mobile wireless. The normal speed I get is 1.2mbs down and aroun 750KBS up which is OK is there anyway of improving the speed. The pcmcia card in the router has a attachment for a aerial I think same connection as the vodaphone 3g card as the little Ariel fits it.
The service is advertised as 5.2mb
Im not complaining mind you as the service is generally very good beside the speed issue.

watty

No.
The service is UP TO 5.4Mbps. That's if there is only one person using it on the Mast sector you are in.

Similarly the real speed of the "up to" 3.6Mbps 3G/HSDPA Mobile Phone Operator services are 40k to 3.6Mbps with 200kbps to 1.8Mbps as typical top speeds for many users.

If you are getting 1200kbps/750kbps an external aerial may make little difference.

It's only on FIXED wireless / Cable /Metro /DSL services that you get the "up to" speed most of the time, though some services typically give about 1/2 the up to speed. In the UK the majority of FIXED broadband is 1/2 to 1/3rd the "up to" speed.

If your typical speed is 1.2Mbps then that is not bad for a MOBILE service. Read what "3" users sometimes get. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=54742517&postcount=3381

If you want an actual 5Mbps speed then you need a premium fixed service about €60 a month.

I have a fixed service 10Mbps. Due to contention, on very busy periods it may drop to just below 5Mbps. The contention is among 100's of users with 100's of Mbps total capacity for fixed services. For Mobile services the speed quoted by all operators is the total sector speed for the mast with only one user.

The 3G services allow up to a maximum 24 users on a 3.6Mbps sector, but as it's W-CDMA, the speed each will be about 1/2 to 1/3rd of 3600/24 Kbps. (more than 24 modems and the rest don't get connected)

The Digiweb system can give up to 3 times more speed than 5400/24 Kbps for 24 users on a Mast sector as it does not use W-CDMA and can very rapidly switch between users in the "gaps" in the web page or FTP or Email downloads.

Summary

• You might not get any extra speed with an aerial.
• The Digiweb system, every thing else equal, performs nearly 5 times better than 3G/HSDPA of the Mobile Phone Companies.
• For higher speed all the time you need a Fixed Broadband connection. Not Mobile.
• Mobile Internet is not as good as Fixed Broadband, but the Digiweb system is mostly as good as entry level DSL, thus can be regarded as Broadband. The 3G/HSDPA system in contrast is rarely DSL speed and never as low/good ping times. The Digiweb Mobile does give Broadband ping times.

watty

P.S.
It's not the same aerial or connection as 3G cards from Vodaphone, O2 or "3". Different waveband for aerial.

Only use a Digiweb supplied aerial as the Modem card is Digiweb's and the wrong aerial cable plug or aerial band could damage the card.

And, no, I have no idea when Digiweb might offer external aerials.

elbow316

Hey Watty,
You seem to know your stuff - do you have any idea if Digiweb have any immediate plans to roll this Mobile product to more areas of Dublin?
I'm using the Vodafone 3G product in Phibsboro, Dublin 7 and while the reliability and download speeds are excellent, the pings to UK servers generally hover around the 150 mark.
I'd certainly be interested in this Digiweb product should it be rolled out.

watty

Ring sales and ask about coverage where you are.