mobile data
Mobile data is Internet content delivered to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets over a wireless cellular connection.
Cellular providers have offered mobile data through a number of different technologies including GSM (in 1G, 2G, 3G UMTS and 4G LTE Advanced), CDMA and TDMA. Mobile data plans offer varying amounts of data transfer per month for a range of rates. The most expensive plans typically offer unlimited data; the low end may provide less than a gigabyte (GB).
Mobile data requirements for various activities:
| Activity |
Data requirement |
| |
50kb per message |
| Uploading pictures |
1.5MB per photo (variable) |
| |
1-2MB per minute (autoplay video disabled) |
| Web surfing |
2.5MB per minute (variable) |
| Gaming |
1.5MB per minute (highly variable, applies only to gaming online) |
| Music streaming |
1-2MB per minute |
| Podcast streaming |
60-100MB per hour, depending on buffering and data quality and compression |
| YouTube |
2.5-6MB per minute, higher end for HD (high definition) video |
| Netflix |
1GB-3GB per hour, higher end for HD |
At 2.5MB per minute, eight hours of Web surfing uses a gigabyte of data. Watching high definition Netflix content at 3GB per hour can quickly eat through a larger data allowance. Many users opt to use Wi-Fi for online content whenever possible and some users forgo mobile data altogether.
White Space Wi-Fi (White-Fi) is a new standard that is expected to make mobile data more affordable. The new wireless technology offers greater range, extending for just under seven miles, in contrast to the two-block range of Wi-Fi. White-Fi also features better penetration of obstacles, at speeds well beyond those of 3G and 4G mobile broadband.