An Overview of WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network)

What Is WWAN

What is WWAN? WWAN is the abbreviation of wireless wide area network. It is a network connection used in conjunction with mobile communication technologies such as WIMAX, CDMA, and GSM. Any user with a WWAN card can connect to WWAN and access the Internet.

It covers a very large area, covering regional, national, and global wireless networks, and because WWAN uses 128-bit encryption, it is very secure. In addition, WWAN is more convenient to use and has fewer signal problems in telecommunication networks. It is established on a global scale. Now, you can continue to read this post from MiniTool to get more information about WWAN.

WWAN not only always refers to a wide area, but also a closed area with a large geographic coverage area is also considered WWAN. For example, MANET (Mobile Ad Hoc Network) with nodes on buildings and towers or airplanes.

Low-power and low-bit-rate wireless wide area networks (LPWAN) are also considered WWAN. For example, in applications implemented in the Internet of Things (Internet of Things), small packets of information are transmitted between things.

A general example of WWAN we use in our daily lives is a laptop with a WWAN card installed, which establishes a safe and fastest connection and brings us online so that we can work anywhere.

Also see:

• What Is WAN? What’s the Purpose of It? What Are the Types of It?
• VLAN: Definition, Types, Usages, and Work Principles
• What Is LAN (Local Area Network)? Here Is an Introduction!

Features of WWAN

The following are the features of the wireless wide area network.

• Thanks to Gigabit LTE, the speed is faster.
• It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard.
• As the distance increases, the throughput will decrease, and vice versa.
• Compared with the physical connection, the transmission speed is reduced.

Advantages and Disadvantages of WWAN

Now, this part is about the advantages and disadvantages of WWAN.

Advantages

• Global wireless coverage.
• Flexible cloud management, deployment, and migration.
• Better security than WLAN.
• Used for diversified, cost-effective backup of data applications.
• Rapid deployment of new applications.

Disadvantages

• Replacing a lost WWAN can be expensive.
• Need a reliable network connection.
• Reduce throughput during large coverage areas.

How to Use a WWAN Connection on Mac

If your wireless service supports it, and you have a wireless wide area network (WWAN) adapter that supports Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), you can use a mobile phone to connect your computer to the Internet network. This is useful if there is no wired or wireless network in your area.

After setting up your account at your wireless provider and connecting the WWAN adapter to your computer, Network Preferences will open and display your WWAN connection settings.

Step 1: On your Mac, choose the Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Network.

Step 2: Select your WWAN connection in the list on the left.

Step 3: Make sure your account name is correct, then enter the password for your account, if necessary.

Step 4: Click Connect to start your connection. After you’re connected, you can monitor the time you’ve been connected, the packets sent and packets received status, and see the IP address the connection is using.

Select Show WWAN status in menu bar in the WWAN pane of Network preferences to keep the WWAN status icon in the menu bar.

To adjust other WWAN settings (such as DNS proxy), adjust WINS server settings, or change the vendor and model of your modem, click Advanced.

WWAN vs WLAN

WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) is different from WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) technology. For example, when WLAN uses WiFi to connect and transmit data, WWAN uses telecom cellular network technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, and 5G to transmit data.

Final Words

To sum up, this post introduces information about WWAN. You can know the definition, advantages, and disadvantages of it. Besides, you can know how to use a WWAN connection on Mac.