Wireless V Wired? ::::::: WiFi Means Mobility!

Additional Information:

• Wi-Fi Connects You Anywhere
• The WiFi Technology
• Who Can Use Wi-Fi?
• Using Enterprise-Level Wi-Fi Technology
• Wi-Fi Connects Travelers

Imagine working on your laptop or checking e-mail from anywhere in your home. Imagine being able to connect to your office network from an airport or coffee shop. Imagine retrieving files or presentations from the corporate network, cruising the Internet or sending instant messages to co-workers—and doing it all from a conference room or the company cafeteria.

Now, imagine doing all these things easily and quickly - without worrying about finding a wired network connection. That is WiFi.

Imagine being able to move your entire office without losing your investment in networking installs, or to add new staff, all without moving cables or installing complicated hubs and routers.
That is WiFi.

It's powerful. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11b or 802.11a to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, with an 11 Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) data rate or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so they can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used in many offices.

Everyone can use Wi-Fi, almost everywhere in the world. Home Wi-Fi networks can connect multiple computers to each other, to peripherals, and to the Internet. A Wi-Fi network can connect your business computers together to share such hardware and software resources as printers and the Internet. That means everyone can share stored files, photos and documents and print them out on a single printer attached to one desktop computer—all without unsightly cables running throughout the office. In a home or office, using Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment in your wireless network gives you the ability to share a single high-speed broadband cable or DSL connection. A Wi-Fi network can easily be expanded to ten users or more. It also gives you assurance that the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment you purchase today will work with the equipment you add to your network in the future. Wi-Fi networks work well for the small to medium business, providing connectivity between mobile salespeople, floor staff and behind-the-scenes finance and accounting departments. Because small to medium businesses are dynamic, the built-in flexibility of a Wi-Fi network makes it easy and affordable for them to change and grow.

Large corporations and campuses use enterprise-level technology and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED wireless products to extend standard wired Ethernet networks to public areas like meeting rooms, training classrooms and large auditoriums. Many corporations also provide wireless networks to their off-site and telecommuting workers to use at home or in remote offices. Large companies and campuses often use Wi-Fi to connect buildings. Service providers and wireless ISPs are using Wi-Fi technology to distribute Internet connectivity within individual homes and businesses as well as apartments and commercial complexes.

Wi-Fi networks are also found in busy public places like coffee shops, hotels, airport lounges and other locations where large crowds gather. This may be the fastest-growing segment of Wi-Fi service, as more and more travelers and mobile professionals clamor for fast and secure Internet access wherever they are. Soon, Wi-Fi networks will be found in urban areas providing coverage throughout the central city, or even lining major highways, enabling travelers access anywhere they can pull over and stop.