While Internet access at work or home is easily accomplished
with fixed connections, wireless access is beginning to come up
to speed and offer the benefit of mobility albeit over short distances.
This growing wireless access technology is called
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access and is essentially
a networking system that creates a wireless connection
between a device, typically a laptop PC, and a network or the
Internet. The power and size requirements of WLAN device
cards make it more suitable for laptops and some PDAs than
for smaller handheld devices such as cellular phones.
The majority of current WLAN systems use a technology
called the 802.11 standard, also known as Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi began
a couple of years ago under the name IEEE 802.11 High Rate
(HR) standard. Someone with a sense of nostalgia coined the
easier to relate term of Wi-Fi as a play on the old audio term
hi-fi (high fidelity), which entered the language back in the
1950s.
One of the key features of WLANs is that they use unlicensed
spectrum, currently most in the 2.4 GHz range
although systems are possible in 900 MHz as well as 5 GHz.
Operating in unlicensed spectrum allows WLAN operators to
set up a wireless network for only the cost of equipment and its
connection to a network or the Internet.
These WLANs are useful for providing access in targeted
locations such as offices as an extension of the wired network
or in public areas such as airports, hotels, and shopping centers.
These 2.4 Ghz systems typically have a range of about 300
feet and currently offer speeds of about up to 11Mbps, which
is roughly equivalent to older 10 Mbps Ethernet throughput.
Future WLAN standards should increase this to up to 54 Mbps
which would be much more suitable for multi-media applications
such as Video.
WLAN technologies can be implemented in two ways:
access point or peer-to-peer configuration. Access point configuration
is the most popular method and uses a wireless point
of access that connects to the fixed network connection on one
end and transmits wireless signals on the other end. Access
points typically accommodate six network interface cards
(NICs). These PCMIA type cards are the devices that allow the
connection back to the access point.
The other method of implementation is the peer-to-peer
configuration that works by allowing each end client or device
card to connect to each other and communicate directly
between laptops or devices.
Most WLANs are currently installed in offices to provide
mobility to workers that need to access the network while away
from their desks a growing number of systems are being setup
for public use.
There are groups of socially minded individuals that are
using public access WLANs to create pockets of network
access that would be free for all to use. A basic WLAN system
can be installed for under $1,000 and offer service to users in
a 300 foot radius of the antenna. Anyone with an 802.11b card
could in theory access the network. These networks could offer
limited access to localized content on a community oriented
intranet as well as offering access to the broader Internet.
WLANs are also being planned for public access in locations
that consumers frequent including airports, coffee shops,
and hotels. The potential for these systems to offer localized
content including advertisements or event specific content has
businesses excited about the possibilities. Starbucks has
announced plans to offer WLAN access points at numerous
test locations that would give anyone with a WLAN card in
their device access to a network. This network could be provided
as a free service or offered as a pay as you go system.
These systems can provide more than basic Internet access,
Starbucks could provide information designed to improve customer
service and sell more coffee. 213