|
Wi-Fi or Wireless Fidelity is a
wireless technology that operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5
GHz band. Wi-Fi is a Wireless LAN technology that allows
you to connect to the internet at high speeds and at a
lower cost compared to wire line Ethernet. There are
several flavors of Wi-Fi including 802.11a, 802.11b, and
802.11g. The main difference between these specifications
is speed with the most popular being 802.11b. This
standard allows for speeds of 11 Mbps in the 2.4GHz band.
Higher speeds can be realized when using the 802.11g
which has recently be ratified by the IEEE and is gaining
popularity as it allows for speeds of 20-54 Mbps.
Wi-Fi is growing rapidly in all parts of the world
because of the low cost, high speed, and ease of use. In the
next five years, it is estimated the number of global web
surfers will quadruple from 500 million to 2 billion
people. Of the 1.5 billion new surfers, 1 billion will be
using cheap pocket and handheld devices equipped with Wi-Fi. Companies like SBC communications recently
announced several new Wi-Fi initiatives, including plans
to set up 20,000 new Wi-Fi "hot spots" by 2006. Other
large telecom carries such as T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T
have already been busy building out their Wi-Fi hot spots
for several years. Some of the most common locations for
hot spots include airports, coffee shops and other public
areas.
With so many new locations offering high speed internet
access, the next challenge is to bring these locations
together under one brand so customers can roam from one
hot spot to another. Boingo Wireless is a company that is
doing just this. They are an aggregator that relies on
the networks built by others. They sell monthly access to
individuals and try to get some profit after paying for
access to the underlying networks. Boingo is in the
business of trying to acquire end users and give them
seamless roaming. This strategy is similar to the
strategy implemented by Earthlink in the 1990's when they
set out to consolidate the highly fragmented ISP
industry.Wi-Fi has quickly
become the standard for "last mile" wireless connectivity
and is poised for explosive growth over the next several
years. While many challanges lay ahead, it is the
opportunities that represent the most exciting aspect of
this technology. |
|
|
Wi-Fi
Recommended
Sony
Notebooks
Dell Handheld
Fujitsu
Notebook
  
|
|
