4G & SIM Routers

Wi-Fi or 4G?

Both Wi-Fi and 4G are technologies that provide wireless connectivity; however, they operate differently. The most notable difference between the two technologies is range and scale. Wi-Fi is designed to work on a Local Area Network (LAN), which makes it ideal for a home or office environment. Meanwhile, 4G is a Wide Area Network (WAN) technology and operates through large mobile towers, connecting multiple devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops to a cellular network.

Their operating speeds are also different. Modern Wi-Fi standards, such as Wi-Fi 6, can reach blazing fast speeds, with a theoretical maximum speed of 9.6Gbps. However, this is not consistent and older standards offer much slower speeds. On the other hand, 4G is more consistent, albeit slower than modern Wi-Fi. You can expect download speeds ranging between 5-50Mbps when using 4G. Modern 4G technologies, such as LTE Advanced Pro, have increased these speeds, where the theoretical maximum you can reach is up to 3Gbps.

Both Wi-Fi and 4G utilise radio waves to carry their signals between devices. However, they each utilise different wavelengths, which are strictly separated from one another. As a cellular network, 4G operates on multiple wavelengths, such as 800MHz, 1800MHz, and 2600MHz. These bands are highly regulated to ensure that networks don’t get overloaded. Meanwhile, Wi-Fi generally operates on the 2.4GHz or 5GHz wavelengths. These frequencies are unregulated, allowing any company to utilise them when manufacturing a router. This makes connecting to a router a simple process, but does mean frequencies can easily become overloaded, especially if multiple Wi-Fi networks are near one another.