There are two significant differences: 1) for GSM (and all other 3GPP radio interfaces), regulatory control is completely on the network side. Network says whe

There are two significant differences: 1) for GSM (and all other 3GPP radio interfaces), regulatory control is completely on the network side. Network says when, where and at what power MS must/can transmit. And significantly deviating from network-dictated parameters does not get you anything worthwhile (except in situations that are totally outside of what normal consumer can reasonably do, like attaching 30dBi directional antenna to GSM phone). [Edit: 802.11whatever STA radio is also somehow controlled by AP, but anybody can set-up their own AP without specific license and bandwidth allocation to do so] 2) Cellular phones are typically more strictly certified than WiFi devices.