Comparison Huawei E8372 vs ZTE MF823

Wi-Fi connection speeds, more precisely—the Wi-Fi standards supported by a modem with the corresponding capabilities (see “Type” and “Connection”).

— Wi-Fi 3 (802.11g). A further development of the Wi-Fi 1 (802.11b) standard, designed primarily to increase connection throughput (2.4 GHz) and introduced in 2003. 802.11g equipment is fully backward compatible with 802.11b, so even the simplest modern Wi-Fi devices support both standards.

— Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n). A Wi-Fi standard that further develops the formats described above—in particular, by adding support for MIMO technology (distributing input and output among multiple antennas). Introduced in 2009. The primary operating frequency is 2.4 GHz, although devices with an additional 5 GHz band are also available.

— Wi-Fi 5 (802.11aс). Based on 802.11n and introduced at the end of 2013. The main improvements involved increasing the number of streams on the second frequency (5 GHz) and implementing more advanced MIMO and modulation standards, which accordingly increased throughput.

— Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). Wi-Fi 6 distributes internet using the modern 802.11ax standard in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, handling large numbers of connected devices more effectively. Such a modem is especially convenient where smartphones, laptops, a TV, and smart devices use the network simultaneously, because Wi-Fi 6 distributes traffic more efficiently a...nd reduces latency on a busy network. Compared with Wi-Fi 5, the difference is usually felt not so much in “peak” speed as in more stable operation during streaming, video calls, and online gaming.

— Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax). Essentially the same Wi-Fi 6, but with the addition of the 6 GHz band, making the connection more stable, especially in congested areas. In practice, this is particularly useful in an apartment building with many neighboring networks. But the main point is that the advantage of Wi-Fi 6E is only realized on devices that also support 6 GHz. It is precisely this frequency that makes it possible to allocate a separate channel with the fewest interferences from third-party devices.

— Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be). A step beyond Wi-Fi 6E: it provides even higher speeds, lower latency, and more stable network performance under load. Its key advantages over the previous version are associated with channels up to 320 MHz and Multi-Link Operation, allowing a device to use multiple bands simultaneously rather than just one. In practice, this is especially useful if the modem is to replace the main home router and distribute fast 5G to a laptop, gaming PC, TV with 4K/8K content, NAS, and other demanding equipment at the same time. In other words, Wi-Fi 7 is intended for cases where you need not just fast Wi-Fi, but significant headroom in speed and responsiveness for the future.

The largest number of devices that can be simultaneously connected to the modem via Wi-Fi (see "Connection").

The presence of this limitation is due to the fact that processing network requests from several devices at once requires a fairly large amount of computing resources, and there are not so many of them in miniature electronics like wireless modems. However, even inexpensive models can support about 5 – 6 devices, which is more than enough for most cases; and in more advanced modems, this number can reach 10.

The 4G (LTE) mobile connection speed supported by the modem.

All modern LTE equipment is assigned one or another category (Cat.3, Cat.4, Cat.6, Cat.7, Cat.9, Cat.12, Cat.13, Cat.16, Cat.18, Cat.19, Cat.20, Cat.22), on which the transmission speed directly depends. This paragraph specifies both this category and specific speed indicators, moreover, in two parameters — for reception and for transmission. The transmission speed is always much lower, but given the specifics of mobile Internet access, this is usually not critical.

Note that equipment with different speed categories will be quite compatible with each other, however, the throughput will be limited by the capabilities of the slower device. It is also worth saying that this paragraph indicates the theoretical maximum; practical amounts can be noticeably lower (depending on the quality of the network coverage and the features of specific electronics). However, a modem with a higher speed category will perform faster in fact.

The presence of a connector for an external removable antenna in the modem design. The meaning of all external antennas is described above; here we note that the connector makes it possible to use rather large antennas with the modem, which significantly exceed the capabilities of stock antennas (both internal and external non-removable ones). In addition, the user can choose the antenna at his discretion.

The ability to connect the MIMO antenna (the antenna itself, usually, must be purchased separately).

MIMO technology is used in Wi-Fi communications, as well as in 4G LTE networks (starting with Cat.2). Its general principle is to split the transmitted signal into several transmitting and receiving antennas; at the same time, each of the transmitting antennas broadcasts a signal to all receiving antennas at once (or at least to several of them). This format of operation allows more efficient use of the frequency range, increases the actual data transfer rate, and also increases resistance to interference. But antennas for MIMO are rather bulky, in the case of modems it is difficult to make them built-in; and such feature is required not so often. Therefore, separate external antennas are used to work with this technology.

Note that even in portable Wi-Fi hotspots (see "Type"), this feature is used exclusively for 4G/LTE; Wi-Fi connection is provided by built-in antennas.