I tried it, how far can Zoom be used in an environment without Wi-Fi?

Convenient web conferencing, but it might be difficult if you don't have Wi-Fi at home

Due to the new coronavirus, telework and remote classes have spread all at once in Japan. Regarding telework, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare have so far promoted it, but it has not progressed as much as expected.

In the meantime, the spread of the new coronavirus has triggered the spread of telework and remote classes, for better or worse, and many companies and educational institutions have experienced the use of these technologies.

Japan has relatively well-developed infrastructure and devices to realize telework and remote classes, such as the development of optical lines and 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), and the high penetration rate of smartphones and PCs. rice field. Recently, web conferencing apps and services have become easy to use. Apps and services can do quite a bit even if they're free, and the paid fees aren't too high. Technically and situationally, it can be said that the barriers to realizing telework and remote classes using web conferencing were low.

Many organizations are starting to take advantage of web conferencing as they realize that these technologies can be used in practice. However, it is also true that there are circumstances that must be considered. In particular, students, individuals, and families who have only mobile data communication means of data communication face these problems.

There is a limit to mobile data communication

If you watch too many videos on your smartphone or accidentally update your PC software while tethering on your smartphone, Some of you may have exceeded your data limit.

What happens when you exceed the upper limit of mobile data communication is that the communication speed becomes significantly slower. If you're used to 4G speeds, the slowness can be unbearable. The timing of releasing the communication speed limit is different for each carrier, so be careful.

Web conferencing uses a considerable amount of communication data. Moreover, it takes a long time. It is often used in units of 1 hour or 2 hours. If you have a web conference every day, it will consume a certain amount of communication.

The screenshot below shows the amount of traffic after the author actually held a one-hour web conference with the web conference application "Zoom". In this case, about 680MB of traffic was consumed in one hour. The conditions for hitting the upper limit of the communication speed limit depend on the carrier and plan, so I can't say anything, but in the case of the screenshot below, if you have a similar meeting several times on this day, the upper limit will be reached. may be reached.

If you are subject to communication speed limits, your life will be inconvenient, so it is often recommended to avoid using mobile data communication by connecting to Wi-Fi when conducting web conferences. . However, it is necessary to keep in mind that there are environments where there is no Wi-Fi in the first place, as work from home is required.