What Is Wi-Fi - An Overview
Wireless Internet is becoming one of the fastest growing segments in Internet connectivity. Wireless Fidelity, or Wi-Fi, stands for a type of wireless service using the dual band networks 802.11, 802.11b, and 802.11a. This type of access is available in most metropolitan areas across the United States, and the standards used in this technology are in use in many countries around the globe.
The three standards are differentiated by speed, as well as a few specific features. The fastest two network types, 802.11a and 802.11b, allow for download speeds up to 54 MBPS and upload at 11 MBPS. These broadband speeds are impressive by any standard.
The Wi-Fi Alliance, a global, non-profit organization with the goal of driving the adoption of a single worldwide-accepted standard for wireless Internet, believes that this emerging technology will be as common as the telephone within the next 7 years. Even now Wi-Fi service is available in many airports, malls, hotels, and coffee shops around the country.
Wi-Fi networking is not much different from traditional Internet connections such as Dial Up or Cable. Data packets are still sent via a modem to the Internet, however instead of a Cat 5 cable or phone line the information is sent wirelessly via radio waves. Connections are made automatically when a Wi-Fi device such as a laptop encounters a Wi-Fi network.
If a wirelessly enabled laptop is carried into a coffee shop with a Wi-Fi network, it is on the Internet the moment it is turned on. Of course, if the network is a paid service, then a prompt to enter a credit card or other type of payment will be encountered. Check our main section on Wireless Internet to learn more Wi-Fi and how wireless Internet compares to other forms of broadband.