Network Technologies & Connectivity Flashcards

What technology allows a mobile device to communicate with a payment terminal by tapping within a few centimeters?

Answer: NFC

Near Field Communication (NFC) operates at 13.56 MHz over distances of up to ~4 cm, making it ideal for contactless payments.

Which cellular generation first introduced true broadband mobile internet with theoretical peak speeds exceeding 100 Mbps?

Answer: 4G LTE

4G LTE was the first cellular standard to deliver true broadband speeds, with theoretical peaks over 100 Mbps for mobile users.

What is the function of carrier aggregation in LTE-Advanced and 5G networks?

Answer: Bonds multiple frequency bands together to increase total bandwidth

Carrier aggregation combines two or more LTE/5G frequency bands simultaneously, effectively multiplying available bandwidth for higher speeds.

A customer reports their phone drops calls whenever they walk to a specific area of their home. Which component is LEAST likely to be the cause?

Answer: Failing GPS module

GPS is a receive-only positioning system and has no effect on cellular voice calls or signal strength.

What does the term 'roaming' mean in mobile networking?

Answer: Connecting to a partner carrier's network outside your home coverage area

Roaming occurs when a device connects to a partner carrier's infrastructure because the home carrier has no coverage in that area.

Which Wi-Fi security protocol is considered most vulnerable and should never be used on modern networks?

Answer: WEP

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) uses a weak RC4 cipher and can be cracked in minutes; it has been deprecated and should never be used.

A technician is configuring mobile hotspot on a repaired device. The customer wants to share their LTE connection with a laptop. Which setting must be enabled on the phone?

Answer: Personal Hotspot / Tethering

Personal Hotspot (tethering) must be enabled, and the carrier plan must support it, for the phone to share its cellular data connection.