Wifi Vs Cellular | 7 Differences between Wifi and Cellular

In today's world of technology, mobility is everything what you need. No more you have to sit in front of a computer to access the internet. 

 

Data streaming along with mobility is one of the most crucial aspects of internet usage. Whether you use a Wifi or a cellular data there is always a data stream that comes into play. 

 

For many years Wifi and cellular data have been the dominant wireless technologies for the internet usage. In fact they essentially does the same thing ; allow you to access the internet. 

 

However the data streaming part is not always the same on both, there are huge differences which separates them.

In this article, let's look at the Wifi Vs Cellular | 7 Differences between Wifi and Cellular. At last from this post, you will know the differences between Wifi and mobile data.

 

Let's get started,

1. Technology

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Wifi is a networking technology that uses radio waves for providing internet access. It uses the IEEE 802.11 standard. 

 

Apart from providing internet access to devices such as laptops, smart phones and tablet, it allows wireless method of device communication.

Cellular is a networking technology that uses cell towers to send and receive radio signals. Basically the concept behind cellular is to provide large range of coverage for a wider area. 

 

In default it is the technology that allows us to call and send text messages through our respective service provider.

2. Data Limit

In general Wifi has no such data limitations on the amount of data you can use. Even though it does have a monthly data plan, the connection will not get disconnected even if you exceed the allocated limit. 

 

For the exceeding data usage, there will be separate charges. This makes Wifi ideal for many online activities such as watching videos, downloading large files and video conferencing.

Cellular data has charges daily, weekly or monthly varying upon the data limit. Based on the service provider these data plans can be varying. 

 

Unlike Wifi, the connection on the cellular data will be disconnected instantly once the allocated data is over.

3. Cost

Compared to a Wifi, a typical cellular connection can be costly on the per bit basis. These charges can be varying depending upon the countries. 

 

Therefore, a Wifi connection should be the first priority when there are large updates. In fact your smart phone will automatically look for updates once you turn on the Wifi.

4. Security

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Cellular data on general provides higher level of security. This is because in default the data is encrypted. 

 

But for a typical Wifi connection the encryptions must be enabled manually. Besides that a Wifi connection which is well maintained by large organizations will also be strong in terms of security. 

 

The reason for this is the Add-ons provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). However this cannot be guaranteed in public Wifi networks. 

 

Public Wifi networks are known for their vulnerability towards attacks. Therefore, in those cases if you need to secure your personal informations, it is always preferred to use your cellular network.

5. Range

Wifi is limited to the range offered by the router. When you are outside that range, there will be no internet access. 

 

Hence, Wifi is not ideal for mobility and those who are residing in remote locations.

Cellular networks on the other hand, provides deep coverages irrespective of the location. Even for rural areas there will be moderate coverages from the ISPs. 

 

In fact even 4G LTE technology is expanding rapidly in most countries. Ultimately this can lead to high speed internet access.

6. Bandwidth

Wifi has proved to be effective in terms of bandwidth. Always the bandwidth offered by a Wifi is better compared to a cellular network. 

 

However Wifi does have one major drawback. When there are more devices trying to get connected through the Wifi, it will potentially degrade the Wifi signals causing bandwidth shortages.

However cellular does not undergo this issue. The reason for this is the underlying protocols and hardwares present in cellular. 

 

Even the cellular networks with 4G technology can offer similar speeds as 1Gbps of Wifi. This makes cellular roughly equal to the Wifi in terms of bandwidth.

7. Power Efficiency

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Both Wifi and the cellular data will considerably use higher amount of power. But Wifi will be using somewhat lesser. 

 

Because technologies such as 4G will consume more power. Therefore, the only way to deal with this is by disabling the connection when it is not in use. 

 

Addionally, your device too takes some preventive measurement for saving battery life. One such is it will turn off cellular connections automatically when the device is connected through the Wifi.