The Future of Wireless Networking

When it comes to networking, the future is wireless. As the technology develops and transfer speeds increase, it looks increasingly likely that wireless will replace Ethernet in most home and small business networks. In this article, I look at how far wireless networking has come and at what the future holds.

There is little doubt that wireless is the way of the future. In fact, it has already made its way into many homes and businesses. If you own a laptop with wireless capabilities, you already know all the handy wireless hotspots in your local area. While you still have to pay for some of these services, increasingly business like cafes and restaurants are offering free Wi-Fi to attract customers.

Wireless is also becoming the medium of choice for the average home network. Most if not all internet service providers (ISPs) offer wireless routers with their packages for a few extra dollars. Also, you will be hard pushed to find a desktop or laptop computer manufactured in the last couple of years that does not have wireless capabilities. So, wireless is both cheap and easy to set up in the home.

The same is true for small businesses. The average wireless router's signal will cover enough area for most small offices. Wireless networking also cuts out the cost of installing and maintaining Ethernet cables. And, of course, it is much neater.

However, wireless is not without its detractors. So far, data transfer speeds do not come near that of Ethernet and this can become an issue on large business networks where large amounts of data are passed between many computers and servers, possibly over a wide area.

Wireless networks also have their own security issues. Since the data is passed through the air it can be picked up by anyone so it needs to be properly encrypted. All computers on a network also need to be protected from would-be hackers in range of the area. In one high profile case the credit card details of millions of people were compromised when identity fraudsters hacked a bank's wireless network. However, as the technology develops it is becoming more and more secure.

In addition, wireless is becoming much faster. The next generation of Wi-Fi, 802.11n, is expected to bring transfer speeds that at last come close to matching the speed of Ethernet cables. Once this standard hits the mainstream wireless is likely become the standard networking medium. Typical data transfer is expected to be 74 Mbps, with the capacity for 248 Mbps on two streams. Also, 802.11n is expected to have a range of about 70 meters. The average at the moment is about 35 meters.

 

Written by: Frank J Klein - CIO

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