Mobile Broadband and Mobile Internet Connection Glossary

Mobile Broadband  and  Mobile Internet Connection Glossary

Broadband:  Broadband or high-speed Internet access gives users access to the internet and internet-related services. Broadband speeds vary widely depending upon the specific type and level of service available and often range from as slow as 200 kilobits per second (kbps), to six megabits per second (Mbps), or even more.

3G broadband: What is 3G broadband? It's currently the most favored manner the majority of mobile phones and mobile computers access the web via a signal from a mobile internet service provider. It is called 3G because it is the 'third generation' of mobile technology.  [LeadingPrimary] European and American suppliers have 3G available for mobile users.

Anti-spam: This term refers to computer software programs that help protect cell phone and computer email programs from unsolicited 'spam' electronic junk mail. Anti-spam programs are only required if using an email client, such as Microsoft Outlook, that downloads messages directly to the computer, laptop or smartphone. On the other hand, webmail, like Hotmail or Google Mail, should have anti-spam software capability already included.
Anti-spam techniques can be divided into four broad categories: those that need actions by individuals, those that are automated by e-mail administrators, those that are automated by e-mail senders and those employed by researchers and law enforcement officials.

Anti-virus: This is software used to protect computers, laptops, and mobile phones from malicious internet (including email) transmitted malware.  Malware is malicious software applications often intended to be intrusive or damaging.  Computer viruses, Trojan horses and worms are common forms of malware.

Malware will often damage your computer, notebook or smartphone and may steal your personal information or just be annoying.

There are many bad people out there making problems and some kind of anti-virus software program is required on a broadband-enabled computers, laptops, and or cell phones.   

Namebrand anti-virus software applications such as Norton or McAfee are often bundled by mobile internet service providers and supplied for free.  Many people rely on free versions of products such as Avast and AVG.  One way or another – the reality is an anti-virus software application is necessary to protect computers, notebooks, and mobile phones.

Anti-spyware: Spyware is wide category of malicious software that will implant itself on notebooks, and smartphones across broadband internet connections. Spyware is designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer or smartphone operation without permission from the device’s owner or legitimate user.  Spyware does other spiteful things such as slow down processes and alter programs and settings. Some internet service providers include good quality anti-spyware in broadband packages.  Many anti-virus packages include anti-spyware.

Capping:  In mobile network  terms capping describes a cap, or limit, on the allowable quantity of data to download on a specific contract.  When the cap is exceeded, additional charges often apply.

Dongle: In mobile data connection  terms dongle has been almost universally adopted to describe the small device that plugs into another internet-enabled device to pick-up a mobile network  signal.  Also sometimes called a 'stick', these devices plug easily into a USB port on a notebook or PC and contain a SIM card from a mobile internet connection provider, in the same way a smartphone accesses data and the internet.

Bandwidth Download speed: Bandwidth Download speed refers to how quickly a file (of information) can be downloaded from a remote source.  This mobile broadband term  describes how fast a connection can deliver data to a computer.  Anything that comes across the internet to a computer is considered to be 'downloaded'.    The download speed is measured by how much of the file is transferred to you over a certain amount of time.  It used to be most download speeds were measured in kb/s, kilobytes per second, or thousands of (data) bytes per second; but fortunately currently it is more likely to measure this connection speed it megabytes or millions of bytes per second.

Femtocells: Femtocells use data connection and boost the 3G signal to make cell phones - and devices with a dongle – perform better.   A femtocell is a wireless access point that delivers localized 3G broadband coverage.  Typically it is very small base station that receives network supplier or ISP signals and boosts it around a small area, such as your house, office or event center.  They very likely are going to become quite common and will be important in location based services and marketing.

Firewall: A firewall is a software component used to stop unwanted traffic arriving on computers, laptops or cell phones over the internet. The firewall will evaluate arriving data that connect to the computers, laptops or smartphones, and if it doesn't meet the settings allocated to it, the data connection will be halted.

A good firewall virus software application is highly recommended to protect computers, notebooks, and mobile phones with a broadband connection.     Firewall software programs   need to work with anti-spyware, anti-virus, and anti-spam software to be most effective.

Fixed-line: Fixed-line broadband is a term used to describe either cable or ADSL internet connections.  The term is primarily used to differentiate fixed-line broadband from mobile broadband which is wireless and uses a mobile network signal network.

Gb (or gigabit): Giga means one billion. Gb  (note the small b) short for   gigabit, a unit used to express internet data speed (also sometimes written as Gbps, or gigabits per second). Current broadband connections are measured in Mb (megabits per second) - there are 1024Mb in 1Gb.

GB (or Gbps, or gigabyte): GB is a contraction of  gigabyte, which is often used to express the size of computer files and memory storage capacity. There are 1024 bytes in a kilobyte (KB), 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte (MB), and 1024 megabytes in a gigabyte. For comparison, a small Notepad file could be measured in bytes, a basic Word document in kilobytes, a music file in megabytes and a DVD movie in gigabytes.

HSPA, HSDPA, HSUPA: HSPA is an acronym for 'high speed packet access'. HSDPA is an acronym for ‘high speed download packet access' and HSUPA is an acronym 'high speed upload' packet access’, each expresses the same technology either sending or receiving data.  It is the latest advancement in quality for mobile broadband usage, working on various 3G mobile data connection networks to improve the speed of data transfer.

HSPA Evolved, HSPA+: The next generation of HSPA is Evolved HSPA (or HSPA+) with potential mobile broadband speeds up to 42Mb.

ISP:ISP stands for internet service provider.

Kb (or kilobit): Kb is a contraction of  kilobit, which is a term used to express the speed at which data travels across an internet connection also written as Kbps, or kilobits per second.  It was commonly used to measure dial-up internet speeds and still  crops up with slower mobile broadband connections.

LTE: LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and is one of the next generation of mobile broadband technology.  It is reputed to be capable of data transfer rates 15 to 100 times faster than current 3G mobile networks.

Mb (or Mbps, or megabit): Mb is short for Megabit, and also written as Mbps, which stands for megabits per second.  Mb commonly is used to express the measurement of internet speeds. A Mb is 1024Kb, while there are 1024Mb in a Gb.

MB (or megabyte): MB is short for for megabyte, which is a term used to describe the size of computer files and storage capacity.

Mi-Fi (or MiFi): Is hardware that, like a dongle, receives a mobile broadband signal. However, unlike a dongle (which plugs directly into a laptop or other internet enabled device), the Mi-Fi device distributes the signal wirelessly using Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi: Pronounced ‘why-fye’, Wi-Fi is short for Wireless Fidelity. It is a trademarked term of the Wi-Fi Alliance certified as working in tandem with additional products that belong to a class of wireless local area network (WLAN) devices based on the IEEE 802.11 standards.

In mobile internet connection terms, the most common usage is when referring to Wi-Fi hotspots:  public areas that provide internet connectivity either free or for a fee.  Because of the close relationship with its underlying standard, the abbreviation Wi-Fi is often used as a synonym for IEEE 802.11 technology.

WiMAX: This term is short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access - a new broadband technology that has potential to offer a wireless broadband alternative without the need for cables. Like LTE, WiMAX is being considered as the next generation of mobile broadband.
WLAN: WLAN is an abbreviation of for wireless local area network, and is more commonly known as Wi-Fi.

A very good software suite for Smartphone SMS Monitoring, GPS Location Tracking, MMS Monitoring and Phone Event Log archive with a Web Account is PhoneBeagle.  Follow this link if you are interested in    Mobile Monitoring Software that is compatible with BlackBerry  and  Android  Smartphones,.    Visit this link for more information regarding the latest software for  
Parental Control and Employee Monitoring of Mobile Phones .