Some may see WLAN and Bluetooth access as competition for
cellular access, it’s more likely to evolve as an extension of cellular
operators offerings. Wireless operators need WLAN technology
to offload heavy localized traffic especially in indoor
environments. Recent studies support the claim that 3G operators
will need WLAN technology to handle the most demanding
users in dense areas. The fact that WLAN uses unlicensed
spectrum will not mean that operators wouldn’t need to spend
money to operate these systems as they will need the same
centralized network management, subscriber identification, security,
and roaming systems in place to manage this last portion
of the wireless transmission. WLANs could be configured to
cache frequently accessed content and reduce the data traffic
carried by the backbone of the system that would be using
licensed spectrum.
Other issues ill need to be overcome for WLAN technology
to peacefully exist with other systems that use the unlicensed
spectrum. Congestion is a real possibility as there is no limit to
the number of networks and traffic that could try to use the
frequency in a given area. Security is an issue that is growing
in importance as more and more users have a WLAN card and
can easily walk or drive within range of many corporate systems.
Many of these systems have been installed with no
change to the equipments factory settings enabling anyone that
knows the common factory settings and passwords to gain
access to corporate networks. Interference will also be a challenge
especially for companies such as Starbucks since other
devices such as Microwave ovens can generate frequencies
close enough to 2.4 GHz to disrupt the WLAN transmission
every time they heat up a muffin. 214