Strictly speaking WiFi is just one type of WLAN (wireless local area network), specifically those communicating using the IEEE 802.11 standard. You could, for instance, have a WLAN communicating via the Bluetooth standard, which would not be WiFi. But these days most WLANs are WiFi and the two terms are frequently used interchangeably.
When you connect to the internet via WiFi, your computer is connected wirelessly to a router or modem, which itself is connected by physical cables to the internet. Mobile data, on the other hand, connects you via your cellular phone network.
WLAN is kind of just the over arching term for a wireless network on a small scale (building, block, apartment).
WIFI and mobile data are not that different, except WIFI’s high frequencies (2-5ghz) and power limitations mean that it’s only effective at short range.
By contrast, Cellular antennas are much higher power and can operate at lower frequencies when you are far from a tower (lower data rate when at lower frequencies, think 4g vs 5g vs 6g). The lower frequencies take less power to generate and can also travel farther without losing too much signal integrity. This makes it reliable in areas where WIFI is not widely available and cellular infrastructure is sparse but small devices like phones can operate without enormous antennas.
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Strictly speaking WiFi is just one type of WLAN (wireless local area network), specifically those communicating using the IEEE 802.11 standard. You could, for instance, have a WLAN communicating via the Bluetooth standard, which would not be WiFi. But these days most WLANs are WiFi and the two terms are frequently used interchangeably.
When you connect to the internet via WiFi, your computer is connected wirelessly to a router or modem, which itself is connected by physical cables to the internet. Mobile data, on the other hand, connects you via your cellular phone network.
WLAN is kind of just the over arching term for a wireless network on a small scale (building, block, apartment).
WIFI and mobile data are not that different, except WIFI’s high frequencies (2-5ghz) and power limitations mean that it’s only effective at short range.
By contrast, Cellular antennas are much higher power and can operate at lower frequencies when you are far from a tower (lower data rate when at lower frequencies, think 4g vs 5g vs 6g). The lower frequencies take less power to generate and can also travel farther without losing too much signal integrity. This makes it reliable in areas where WIFI is not widely available and cellular infrastructure is sparse but small devices like phones can operate without enormous antennas.