What Is Mobile Data?

Date First Published: 15th October 2023

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Data Transmission Technologies

Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Easy

Difficulty Level: 3/10

CONTENTS

How Is Mobile Data Measured?
Advantages and Disadvantages Of Mobile Data

Learn about what mobile data is in this article.

Mobile data, also known as mobile broadband, refers to internet connectivity provided to mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets over a wireless cellular connection. The data uploaded or downloaded using a mobile network is broadcasted from or to a central cellular base station, usually housed on a cell tower. A single macrocell can cover a wide geographical area, and several cells can overlap to provide coverage over thousands of miles.

Over time, the increase in mobile users, the number of devices they own, and the increase in speed and falling prices are causing the amount of mobile data consumed each year to go up. Cellular providers have offered mobile data using different technologies identified by "generation".

How Is Mobile Data Measured?

Mobile data is measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). The amount of mobile data that different applications use varies, depending on how many resources they use. Apps can use mobile data in the background when the device is not in use and consumers actively use mobile data when they browse the web, listen to a podcast, or download an email.

For example, sending and receiving emails uses around 50 KB per message on average. However, intensive tasks, such as streaming can use several gigabytes an hour, particularly when streaming in 4K. Most smartphone owners use around 2GB - 5GB per month.

Some mobile data plans come with unlimited data, but other plans come with a monthly or weekly limit and consumers will be allocated data with their plan. If they exceed that limit, they will face extra charges for additional data use. Sometimes, the provider may not charge fees for exceeding the limit, but throttle a user to a lower data transfer rate after they reach the limit. By consumers accessing their accounts online, they can check data balances.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Mobile Data

The advantages of mobile data are:

It is flexible and provides internet access almost anywhere. Throughout the UK, 4G coverage is very good and it is possible to switch to 3G where 4G is unavailable.
It is a simple method of connecting to the internet in that it does not require any additional configuration or setup.
It tends to be more secure than Wi-Fi as all data is usually encrypted, adding an extra layer of security from security threats.

The disadvantages of mobile data are:

Compared to other methods of accessing the internet, it is much more expensive. This is due to its more expensive technology and flexibility. If people are not careful, they may end up with huge charges from their provider.
Although data transfer rates are improving with newer generations of mobile data, it is usually a lot slower than other methods of accessing the internet.
It is not always possible to get a consistent signal everywhere. Obstructions, like trees and buildings, a higher demand for the signal, and weather conditions, like raindrops, fog, cloud, and snow can all weaken the signal and result in a slower connection.