Wireless Technology - Assignment Example

? Wireless Technology There are over 5 billion mobile phone subscribers in the world. These cellular phones offer services that are made possible by cellular phone companies that offer carrier technology which enables information transfer through sound, data and even visual information. Many cellular phone companies have emerged over the past few decades but few have managed to become household names. The few we acknowledge are namely, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and ClearWire. All of these use different technologies to offer credible services to their consumers in individual ways they feel fit. These technologies offered, of course, have their pros and cons which will be addressed and compared in this study. All these organizations are established in the U.S but some have consumers across the globe. Their services include, voice transfer, internet services and subscription T.V channels among others. Subscribers may be on a personal or commercial subscription. Personal subscribers pay for their personal needs (in their homes) while commercial subscribers buy and sell these services for profit. They may do so directly or indirectly. This paper will observe the mobile telephone, the premium or pay television and the Internet access, as a means of communication. Telephony is the construction, development and application that deploys communication and information between two or more parties through the use of wires and the device known as the telephone. Mobile telephony is similar but without the use of ‘wires’. Pay Television is the use of television services through subscription and is provided through analogue or digital cable or satellite. Internet Access refers to the connection between two or more computers, mobile services and computer networks across the world enabling consumers access services like Email and the World Wide Web. The internet was first made possible using the dial up access in the 1980’s and 1990’s and in the 21’st century, came the ‘Broadband’ technology that is bigger and faster. The average telephone frequency to date is between 160 MHz to 250 MHZ. anything above that is perceived as superior in both speed and quality. AT &T, Verizon, Comcast and ClearWire have different approaches to customer service technologies. AT & T is currently the biggest cellular service provider in the U.S having establishments across twenty two states and enjoys a global market of about 292 million people (AT&T, 2013). This is mainly due to its adaptation of 4G technology which makes it one of, if not the fastest data service provider in the world. ClearWire seems to have the cutting edge when it comes to speed and a wider spectrum in data communication. It uses 4G technology that offers wireless data transfer of up to 2.5 GHZ which is seven times faster than normal cellular service providers, further more it uses (TDD) Time Division Duplex technology which enables it to reuse existing IP network infrastructure which enables it to save on costs of hardware installations (Clearwire Corporation, 2013). It does not congest even in densely populated urban areas due to its deep and wide spectrum. It is also robust and cost effective.\ Verizon and ComCast seem to be at loggerheads when it comes to competition in consumer outreach, sales and services provider. They also offer the same high speed internet and TV services and are also established in the same city, Philadelphia. Comcast had the primary advantage of having established itself well before Verizon came into the picture and had the monopoly of customers in the whole of Philadelphia. The reason for its temporary fallout was the frustration by consumers of having only one internet service provider and that is where Verizon seizes the opportunity to establish itself. Both however, offer enticing packages, premiums and bonuses on their services to attract more customers and switching between either services does not incur expenditure but you may do so only to find your previous ISP with an even more enticing offer. Decision should be made in accordance to your location, length and terms of the contract offered by either of these two service providers. Their disadvantages however is that both companies are notorious for not keeping time on installation agreements and often reschedule making it inconvenient and frustrating for consumers. The setup itself takes hours to perform when they actually do the installations. Because of wireless technology via Comcast, its installations are a bit faster compared to Verizon which requires fibre optic cables being placed underground. However, fibre optics have less interference which places them as superior in quality and stability whereas wireless networks have interference from weather and other elements that interfere with the signal. Both companies bill promptly and comprehensively although the Verizon bill is a tiny bit more confusing. Their customer care services are a bit wanting due to over subscription that results to congestion. This has led to the implementation of phone-based technical support from both organizations. Comcast’s remote is a little bit more user friendly although both have reliable and fast internet speeds. When it comes to service and repair, Verizon takes the lead. Because their technology is more recent, it is easier and faster compared to Comcast which is more difficult. The G in this context stands for ‘generation’. Currently it is the 4th generation of cellular technology. The first G was the first cell phones and were entirely analogue then came the second generation cell phones that were digital. This meant that they could send and receive digital information to both analogue and digital cellular phones. 3G cell phones was introduced in the U.S in 2003. This meant that could send and receive data in addition to sound and visual information by its predecessors. 4G simply means that the data transfer is faster. If one was to set up an organization, it is quite simple that AT&T technology would be most ideal due to its speed and reliance. It is also more accessible throughout the entire globe and is less costly compared to other services which require heavy installations. All in all AT&T cellular technology is futuristic and is most practical for the consumer across the world. References AT&T. (2013). AT&T Company Information. Retrieved on June 10, 2013 from: http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711 Clearwire Corporation. (2013). Clearwire. Retrieved on June 10, 2013 from: http://www.clearwire.com/  Comcast. (2013). XFINITY and Verizon Wireless. Retrieved on June 10, 2013 from: http://www.comcast.com/corporate/vanity/wirelessfaqs Verizon Wireless. (2013). About Verizon Wireless. http://aboutus.verizonwireless.com/commitment/community_programs/hopeline/ Read More