Happy Birthday WiFi

This year is the twentieth anniversary of the formation of the Wi-Fi Alliance and the launch of commercial Wi-Fi. Back in 1999 computers were about the only devices that could take advantage of the new technology. Finally we could move around the house without extremely long wires trailing behind. Current estimates show there will be about 10 billion worldwide Wi-Fi connected devices in 2020.
WiFi uses radio waves to provide high speed connections. Today everyone is talking about 5G being the next big wireless move to replace WiFi. The difference is that 5G uses cellular technology, not radio waves. It is the fifth generation cellular and will replace current fourth generation, 4GLTE phones.

What it means to the common person is that there will be no wires necessary to connect everything in the home. It really does not matter if that means WiFi 6 (the newest standard) or 5G. The difference will be felt in the wallet. 5G is very expensive to rollout and repeater towers will be needed across the county (in some places as close as every 1 to 2 thousand feet). WiFi just needs to travel from your router/modem, in your house to all connected devices.

Billions of devices will need to be replaced as 5G is not backward compatible. The same is true for WiFi 6.

For all the wonderfulness of both of these technologies, a wired connection still provides the best TV watching with little to no buffering and the fastest way to take advantage of surfing the internet.

My advice, ignore both for at least a year, maybe two or three years. Let the others share the slings and arrows (and high cost) of new technology. However, when the new ATSC3 (NEXTGEN TV) standard comes available in your city next year or the year after, get a dongle to hang on the end of your antenna cable and be happy with no-cost, free, interactive TV.
Incidentally WiFi is not an acronym, think of it like haagen daz, it is a made up name.

5G Requirements

Many have heard or seen phone companies touting their 5G tests around the country. 5G is required to be backward compatible with current technology at current speeds. So there is no need to worry about forced change. . . yet.

However, your current phone is not 5G capable and will not be. You will need to buy a new phone to have it connect to 5G. Motorola is pushing to have the first 5G phone available this month ($480 from Verizon). Others will follow and by early next year there will be more choices.

Also, your current modem/router will not work with 5G, nor will your PC. Intel is currently working with Acer, ASUS, Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to deliver laptops and convertibles with the new 5G standard. Companies are working on 5G modems that will fit into phones, cars, smart-home devices and other device forms that have yet to be developed, like maybe carrying a puck type portable modem in your pocket.


Bottom line, if your phone works and your cable or streaming service works for TV now, do not be in a hurry to change all your equipment. Let others suffer the slings and arrows (and costs) of the new technology. Be patient and do not be first in line. It will take a few years to have 5G available everywhere. 5G phone service will be available before home 5G. When home 5G does, be prepared to spend big bucks and deal with learning new equipment. Incidentally, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are expected to broadcast in 5G with 8K TV resolution.

OTA vs. OTT

The often used abbreviations can be confusing. Think of OTA (Over The Air) as using a TV antenna, where the signal comes into your antenna, literally over the air from satellite or huge broadcast antenna at a TV or radio station, vs. on a cable.
Think of  OTT (Over The Top) as directly accessing the internet via a physical cable (such as the one that goes into your modem/router LINK). WiFi also gets its input from that cable. It refers to audio, video, and other media transmitted via the Internet without cable or direct-broadcast satellite television systems controlling content. No TV tuner or receiver is necessary.

OTT devices which support streaming include Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, and FireTV, etc. OTT services include video on demand services like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Sky Go, BBC iPlayer, etc.

Bottom line, OTA uses the air outside of your house to receive signals and OTT uses cables outside of your house to receive signals. They both use cables from the wall to devices inside the house.

Routers and Modems

 Routers and modems perform different functions. Modems connect to the Internet and (MOdulate and DEModulate) the incoming signals and routers send/route wired (Ethernet) and wireless traffic around the house. Most home boxes contain both a modem and router and, because of this the terms are often used interchangeably.

Tech Tidbits

Many people are afraid to charge their phone or tablet overnight because they think it might overcharge and destroy the battery, but modern electronics automatically stop charging and will not overcharge.

Do not leave your gadget in the car or outdoors as extreme heat and cold will harm both your battery life and battery health. Cell phone batteries can swell and be destroyed within hours due to extreme heat. In extreme cold areas batteries run out very fast

Older Nickel-Cadmium batteries had a memory effect that meant you had to drain them every time. Newer lithium-ion batteries do not have that problem. In fact, li-ion batteries last longest when you keep them between 40% and 80% charged.

Whether you shut down your computer nightly comes down to personal preference and the vagaries of Microsoft operating systems. If you never shut down your computer, it tends to slow down over time, so a restart every now and then will keep the speed up.

If your Internet connection is slower than usual, try unplugging both your modem and router from the Internet source for 10 to 15 seconds. This usually works to speed things up. Unplugging many from the power source does not work as they have internal batteries, so using the reset button another way to solve this.

Every Web browser has a private mode. When private browsing mode is on, the browser will not record where you go and it wipes most of the information someone could use to piece together your online travels. However, private browsing isn't foolproof. It doesn't hide your browsing from your Internet service provider, the sites you visit, or any law enforcement that happens to be watching. Companies typically log sites visited. Private just means that it is harder to find.