Going wireless

You are not alone. Linking machines to share files, printers, Internet access and enjoy multiplayer games—without wires—is one of the biggest trends in home computing. And developments earlier this year provided a significant speed boost. Wireless Internet, also called “hotspot,” brings the power of offering the service of public Internet access to your business customers or guests. One good example of a hotspot available here on Saipan is at Shirley’s Coffee Shop’s two branches, Susupe and Garapan. And why do they have wireless Internet access? Simple. Two key-demographic of wireless adopters include mobile professionals and students. Offering wireless Internet access allows you to further attract, retain, and build customer loyalty with these demographics.

Wireless networking is primarily done using a standard known as WiFi (Wireless Fidelity). There are different kinds of WiFi, with the arcane designation of 802.11, followed by a letter. The flavor of WiFi that initially took off was 802.11b, and it had a top potential connection speed of 11 megabits per second. Then, new variant was approved—802.11g. It has a top potential speed of 54 Mbps, which is more than halfway to 100 Mbps, the top capability of most wired Ethernet network connections. There was also a third version, 802.11a, which preceded 802.11g, but it’s not taken off. Its top potential speed is also 54 Mbps, but it operates at a different frequency than either b or g.

The surging popularity of WiFi has reached critical mass, and as a result prices have fallen dramatically. Wireless routers for the home and office used to cost well over $150 to $200. Now they can often be found for less than half that. When you trek to a computer store to buy wireless equipment, you may find all these numbers and letters confusing. But there are some factors you should know that should clear things up:

Most 802.11g wireless products will work with 802.11b equipment. That means if a friend comes over with his wireless-equipped or wireless-ready notebook, he will be able to share your Internet connection without a hassle. It also means if you have already bought 802.11b wireless adapters, you can now buy 802.11g, and the two will get along just fine. You can also buy products that incorporate 802.11a, though that usually boosts the price significantly.

Keep in mind that the 11 Mbps and 54 Mbps are “potential” top speeds. In actual use, the speed of wireless networks is significantly less than rated speeds. There are several reasons, including distance between the devices; interference from other wireless products, such as 2.4-GHz cordless phones; and the overhead used to manage the connection itself. Most 802.11b connections top out at about 6 Mbps, while 802.11g has a maximum of about 20 Mbps. Networks that blend g and b will see even slower overall speeds, because more of the bandwidth is used to ensure compatibility between the two.

Because they use older technology, 802.11b products are less expensive than 802.11g models. If your primary purpose for networking is to share Internet access, 802.11b will do just fine. That’s because most home broadband Internet connections top out at 3 Mbps, well under the potential and actual speeds of both types of WiFi. Gaming also works just fine with 802.11b. If you plan to stream video or move big files between computers, then 802.11g is a better choice.

The main benefit to 802.11g is speed. Because it uses the same 2.4-gigahertz radio frequency as 802.11b, it is just as prone to interference. It generally works over the same distances, so there’s no improvement in range, though g will be faster than b at farther distances. That’s because it is starting out faster to begin with. If 802.11b drops to, say, 3 Mbps at 200 feet, 802.11g might drop to 10 Mbps.

I’ve been playing with several 802.11g products, and I have seen at least one other benefit. Early 802.11b products were basically aimed at techies who take great joy in wading through confusing menus and poorly written help files to make things work. Newer 802.11g products seem to be a lot friendlier, because the companies that make them now realize that real people are buying them.

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Franco O. Mendoza is the Systems Administrator of Verizon. For comments or questions, e-mail him at franco.mendoza@vzpacifica.com.