* Beware carrier usage restrictions with cellular routers
There’s a gizmo on the market called a cellular router (or 3G router). This device – as you might suspect – aggregates multiuser LAN traffic and forwards it over a cellular last-mile WAN connection. In such a configuration, the cellular data connection functions in place of a DSL, cable modem, dial-up, fractional T-1, ISDN or other access link.
A sampling of 3G router makers includes Digi International, D-Link, Junxion, Kyocera, and Linksys/Cisco. Some of these devices support firewalling and VPN encryption.
And today, SonicWall intends to announce a device aimed at the business market that couples cellular routing with the gamut of unified threat management protection tools: deep-packet inspection firewalling, VPN, intrusion detection/prevention, endpoint security (antivirus, antispyware) and content filtering.
But here’s the burning question: In what instances can you legitimately use cellular routers like these?
The major U.S. mobile network operators have strict rules about how their 3G data network services can be used. Use of Verizon Wireless’s EV-DO and Cingular’s basic UMTS/HSDPA broadband network services in place of a dedicated access line is expressly prohibited by the carriers, for example. Sprint is more flexible, restricting usage to routers that the company has certified.
Usage rules outside the U.S. tend to be more generous than those from the big U.S. incumbents, notes SonicWall Senior Product Line Manager John Gordineer. So far, the company says it has no formal relationships with U.S. operators, though Gordineer indicates he’s hoping that his company’s router/security appliance, called the TZ 190, will inspire U.S. mobile operators to create new router-based services.
Scheduled to ship next month, the TZ 190 connects to any carrier’s EV-DO or UMTS/HSDPA 3G network service (speeds of up to about 700Kbps) via PC Card. It targets branch offices, retail stores, small businesses and temporary network setups, such as construction sites, for a better-performing alternative to dial-up, fractional T-1, and ISDN access. It can also be used in locations where these or higher-speed DSL and cable modem options aren’t available.
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From your own personal realm to the big wide WAN, the world is exploding with new wireless technologies. This
Network World, 10/23/06
