Give Me a WiFi

W e have all heard the term Wi-Fi but the truth of the matter is that most of us don't understand it much better than a prehistoric troglodyte would have.

Certainly we have developed a plug and play mentality when it comes to technology but a basic understanding of Wi-Fi and how it will change the realm of communication access will undoubtedly produce a WOW response from most of us.

The term Wi-Fi is said to have been coined by a brand-consulting firm hired by an alliance of Wi-Fi developers, which was formed to solve the problem of integrating wireless products from different vendors into a seamless wireless network. The consultants created the word on the model of the audio recording term High Fidelity or Hi-Fi. The name caught on, not because of aggressive marketing, but because it was a whole lot easier to say than "IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence."

The Future Will Be Friendly

Wi-Fi is the technology underlying wireless networking. It was designed to make networking easier and supplement the wired networking standard, Ethernet, also known as IEEE 802.3. Although Ethernet has some advantages as a network standard, including physical security of the medium and much higher throughput (i.e. the speed of data transmission), the lure of Wi-Fi is its medium: the air. Not only is it costly to wire a building for Ethernet, it is also costly to build, house and maintain the racks of network switches needed to tie the system together. Then, over time, the network cards, wiring and switches become obsolete and have to be replaced at additional cost.

Wi-Fi, on the other hand, uses radio spectrum as its medium. There are no wires to install in the walls, get chewed up by pets or tripped on by unsuspecting passersby. Connecting to a wireless network is virtually instantaneous; you can start participating in its shared resources immediately as if you had just "plugged in"; it's significantly more portable than traditional Ethernet. There's no more hunting for a free network drop, or having to put up without connectivity if you're in a room that hasn't been wired.

The efforts of the Wi-Fi Alliance have paid dividends beyond expectations as more and more devices are able to run applications in remote areas or in older or historic buildings where cable cannot easily be installed. In addition, most laptops now include a wireless network adapter as a standard component. Wi-Fi is no longer the future of communication; it is everywhere, here and now. Some computers, such as Apple's Macbook Air, even ship without an Ethernet port, making it entirely dependent on Wi-Fi for connectivity without external peripherals.

How it Works

Wi-Fi uses radio waves, just like cordless and cellular telephones, televisions and radios. Since the 2.4 and 5.8 GHz bands Wi-FI uses are unlicenced, many other technologies share the same airwaves; you could be cooking hot dogs in your microwave oven and downloading files from the Internet all on the same frequency!

Computer-generated data is translated into a radio signal, which is transmitted via antennae to a wireless access point located nearby where it is decoded. From there, the information is sent to its destination on the network. The data could be anything, from a shared file, an e-mail or a print job to your network-enabled printer. When someone transmits data to your site the process is reversed.

The adapters that transmit the data in radio waves are comparable to those used for walkie-talkies or cellular telephones, except that the much higher transmission frequency allows the signals to carry more data. As an added bonus, Wi-Fi will work almost anywhere in the world where simple transmitting and receiving equipment can be located.

Still Growing Strong

At present there are more than 220,000 hot-spots worldwide. The ubiquitous use and compatibility of Wi-Fi is one of the major reasons it will continue to grow, and more and more devices such as printers and mobile phones will incorporate the standard.

The speed and capacity of the higher frequency radio wave transmission are improving quickly. An original IEEE 802.11 component operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band of the radio spectrum with a signalling speed of up to 2 megabits of data per second. Subsequent standards, such as 802.11a, b and g enabled Wi-Fi to operate on other frequencies and at higher signalling speeds. The newest standard IEEE 802.11n is able achieve speeds as high as 140 megabits per second.

The Genuine Article

The potential impact of Wi-Fi cannot be overestimated. In addition to new devices manufactured with Wi-Fi technology built in, older equipment such as laptops, for example, that have no built-in wireless network adapter, can be upgraded by the simple purchase of an adapter that plugs into an available PC card slot or USB port. Desktops can also be upgraded through the USB port or a PCI or PCI Express card can be installed inside the machine.

Your wireless adapter, once installed, will identify Wi-Fi hotspots and prompt you to connect.

The ability to connect to the Internet in public hotspots is more than merely convenient; it enables you to maintain contact with clients, family, and friends through text messages or e-mail while sitting beside the pool at your favourite resort or snowed in and unable to get to the office. It will make you wonder how the world ever managed without the advantages of Wi-Fi.