Few tips on your USB modem

So what is a usb modem? Should I buy it? Will it meet my needs? What are the downsides of it? What are the plus points of it?

Well! We do have a lot of questions when it comes to a usb modem, many which go unanswered or getting us into making a wrong decision. If you do a survey of the current usb modem users there are many who are happy with it and many who are not. Why is that so?
We have a small article written for you to get you to know your usb modem. Though there is no thumb rule as to what is right and wrong, this article will give you a brief idea of the usb modem, how if functions and also help you make your decision.

What is a usb modem?

In simple words usb modem is a device that will help you connect to the internet. Unlike other modems it connects to a usb port on your computer. usb modems are tiny and can be carried around in your pocket just like your mobile phone. They latch on to the same network towers like your mobile phone but not a mobile phone. usb modems too operate on a wide range of frequency like GSM / CDMA / 3G. GSM modems and CDMA modems are still sold in a few countries where ever there are GSM and CDMA network operators. Technology has evolved to a new level in a few countries where they now use 3G network. Here the modems that are sold are UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA. You must be wondering what these abbreviations are. Just to keep it simple, it got to do with the download and the upload speed for your internet. We will talk about it later in this article. You can also use the SMS function on your usb modem if your network provider supports it.

What kind of speeds can we expect with these usb modems?

As we spoke earlier, there are different types of usb modems. We will mainly talk about the 3g usb modem as this is the latest in the market. 3g usb modems or wireless usb can support up to different speeds. A HSDPA usb modem can support up to 3.6mbps and 7.2mbps as the download and 384kbps to 1mbps upload and a HSUPA USB modem can support up to 3.6mbps and 7.2mbps as download and up to 3.6mbps upload. A HSUPA usb modem can upload at a higher speed than a HSDPA usb modem.

So if I buy a HSUPA usb modem will I my internet be faster?

Technically “Yes” however it will all come down to your network provider or internet service provider. If you network provider or internet service provider offers a max download speed of 3.6mbps and upload of 1mbps it will not make any difference if you buy a HSDPA or a HSUPA modem. The speeds will remain the same on both. If your network provider or internet service provider offers 3.6mbps or higher in upload and download then it makes sense to purchase a HSUPA modem.

Should I buy a usb modem?

It’s simple. If you need higher internet speed on the move then usb modem is for you.

What are the downsides of a usb modem?

Since a usb modem is wireless and latches on to the same network as your mobile phone, it can be a victim of network congestion. Let’s talk more about the network now. usb modems are offered to us by mobile network providers, the ones that we make and receive calls. To make it simple to understand just like how a coin has two sides a network also has two sides one for voice and other for data. Since the same voice network providers are now providing us the data service and the network is shared, the voice service takes a major chunk of the share. That’s because there are more voice subscribers that data as of now. A network tower can only hold “X” number of people on it to serve.

If we take an example, if a network tower can hold 100 people and the service provider gives 60% preference to voice subscribers and 40% to data subscribers, it can hold 40 data subscribers. If at a given time there are 59 people making and receiving calls on a network tower and 41 people using data service which makes it 100% if a 60th voice subscriber makes a call one of the data subscribers connection may get disconnected as the preference is 60% voice subscribers. (The ratios, percentages and figures here are not actual and are only used as an example. These ratio or percentages may vary from provider to provider. It is used here only for understanding.)

This kind of a scenario is very rare as internet service providers or network providers take all measures to prevent this from happening. The tower is upgraded to handle higher number of subscribers. The ratio of voice verses data will always vary from location to location and that depends on the number of subscribers in that location. If the data subscribers are higher than the ratio will be higher for data subscribers.

There is another aspect for internet speed using a usb modem and that’s bandwidth. Here the logic is very simple. Let’s say the bandwidth available is 100Mb and the network supports a download speed of 3.6mbps. Since the bandwidth available is only up to the network tower and not the usb modem the bandwidth is shared among the users on that tower. So higher number of users can take affect on the internet speed of the usb modem.

What are the plus points of a usb modem?

These modems are lighter and you can carry them in your pocket just like a mobile phone. Network providers cannot limit you to a fixed internet speed so the speed is flexible depending on the availability on the network tower. There are other functions that a usb modem can do and one of them is sending and receiving SMS like you would on a mobile phone.

Can I share my usb modems with more than one computer?

I have come across many people who ask me this question and the answer is yes but only if you plug it to a device called a “router”. A laptop has a capability of receiving WIFI signals and a router can transmit WIFI signals. A usb modem can only receive wireless internet signals from a network tower and when plugged into a computer can give access to only that computer where it is plugged. Since a usb modem connects through a usb you will have to purchase a router that has a usb slot as an input to share the internet. And since the usb modem and the router are both wireless they both can be well hidden for anyone to see. A perfect combination to be wireless. If you want to know more on how to share your wireless USB modem click here

Now with all this information I hope it has given you a brief idea of what a usb modem is, how it works and what are the plus and minus points of a usb modem.