Comparison Huawei E3372h vs ZTE MF79U

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 greatest distance at which the modem's built-in router is capable of providing communication via the Wi-Fi interface (see "Connection").

It should be taken into account that in fact the range strongly depends on a number of factors that are not related to the main specs of the modem: the presence of interference and obstacles in the signal path, the specs of the Wi-Fi module of the connected device, the battery charge in this device or the modem itself, etc. Therefore, the actual range indicators can be noticeably lower than the claimed ones: for example, when working through a wall, they are noticeably reduced. However, this spec quite clearly describes the overall range of the device, and comparisons of different models on it are quite acceptable.

Also note that it does not always make sense to purchase a device with a maximum range — although a long range provides additional convenience, it requires high transmitter power, which significantly increases the size and price of the modem. Therefore, when choosing, it is worth proceeding primarily from the intended scenarios of use. For example, if you need a 3G connection to access the Internet on the road from your tablet, a range of several metres will be enough. But for installation in a large private house, it makes sense to look for a model with increased effective range.