ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Mobile broadband

Have you ever seen your parents or someone use the internet on their phone without being connected to Wi-Fi? That’s called mobile broadband.

You know how you have to be in a specific spot in the house to use the internet on your iPad or laptop? That’s because those devices need to be connected to Wi-Fi to work. With mobile broadband, you can use the internet from anywhere.

It works a lot like how you use your phone to make calls or send text messages. Your phone sends and receives data through something called a network. This network is made up of towers (kind of like really tall poles) that are spread out all over the place.

When you use mobile broadband, your phone or tablet connects to this network and sends and receives data using wireless signals. That’s how you’re able to use the internet on your phone or tablet without being connected to Wi-Fi.

Just like how you need to pay for your phone bill each month, mobile broadband also requires payment. You’ll need to pay for a mobile broadband plan, which gives you a certain amount of data you can use each month.

So, in summary, mobile broadband means using the internet on your phone or tablet through wireless signals sent and received from a network of towers, and it allows you to use the internet anywhere, but requires payment for a mobile broadband plan.