Hotspot | Wireless | Networking

Each type of wireless access to the Internet offers a different combination of cost, coverage areas, reliability, ease of use, and security. Your choice will depend on your particular needs and the availability of signals in the locations where you need wireless Internet access.

For example, if you use your computer in just a few places and all of those places are within range of Wi-Fi hot spots, the built-in Wi-Fi adapter (or an inexpensive plug-in adapter) is robably your best choice. It’s likely that Wi-Fi hot spots already exist at your workplace and in the libraries, coffee shops, schools, and conference centers where you regularly spend time, and it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to install one or more access points at home. However, you will probably need a separate account to log in to each Wi-Fi network. Some of these Wi-Fi services are free, but others charge for access by the hour, by the day, or by the month; if you need paid accounts at several locations, the total cost can be more than a single account with a cellular service.

Wi-Fi also allows you to add portable computers to an existing LAN at home or in your school or workplace. And if cost is a primary concern, you will probably choose to use free public Wi-Fi hot spots instead of a cellular or WiMAX service that charges a monthly fee.

On the other hand, if you want constant Internet access wherever you go, the cellular data and WiMAX metropolitan area network services are better choices. Both systems provide coverage throughout large geographic regions, and both allow you to maintain a connection while you’re moving from one place to another. You can use the same account and the same login and password every time you set up a connection. However, it’s important to make sure that there’s a usable cellular or WiMAX signal in all the places where you expect to use them before you commit to a long-term contract. Most wireless data service providers offer a free or low cost trial period that you can use to test the system.

As WiMAX and cellular data services become more common, many laptop computers and add-on network adapters will operate with both types of wireless services. When the computer detects a high-speed Wi-Fi signal, it will automatically try to establish a connection to that network. But when there is no local Wi-Fi signal, or if you haven’t configured your computer to use any of the local signals, it will automatically shift over to your WiMAX or cellular data account and use that service to connect to the Internet.

All three types of wireless Internet services—Wi-Fi, cellular, and WiMAX—offer fast and reliable connections, but each has a different set of strengths and weaknesses. For short-range coverage and for access to local area networks, Wi-Fi is the obvious choice. If you are outside of the service areas of a DSL or cable Internet service, WiMAX is a huge improvement over a slow dial-up service. But when you carry your computer to many locations, a single account with a cellular or WiMAX service will allow you to connect to the Internet without the need to search for a new hot spot and set up a new account.

Wi-Fi Services
The 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n Wi-Fi services all operate in a frequency range at or slightly above 2.4 GHz. The 802.11a signal uses a band close to 5.3 GHz. The specific center frequencies of each Wi-Fi channel are listed in Table below.

Wi-Fi Characteristics Table;

Unless you’re a radio engineer, the important things to know about the different Wi-Fi services are the maximum data transmission rate and the signal range. The differences between the maximum data speeds and the typical speeds are caused by the handshaking and other nondata information that must attach itself to each data packet. Obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of overhead involved in moving information through any kind of Wi-Fi network.