Most companies will try anything to get the drop on competitors, as the
current scramble to get equipment based on the still incomplete 802.11n wireless
LAN (WLAN) standard to market amply illustrates. Whether the products being
rushed out offer long-term viability or usefulness to customers hardly seems to
matter to the manufacturers concerned.
The latest Wi-Fi variant will deliver up to three or four times the bandwidth
of existing 802.11g networks. Signal range, as ever, remains something of a
mystery, depending on how many walls, ceilings, stationery cupboards and drinks
machines are located between the computer and the access point. But they will
probably be pretty much the same at up to 50 metres, anyway.
Wi-Fi usage has exploded in recent years, though mass adoption only kicked
off when notebook vendors started to integrate 802.11b/g chipsets into portable
computers as standard. The same will probably be true of faster 802.11n wireless
networks, and with good reason.
Early implementations of the technology launched before the final standard is
confirmed are, frankly, best avoided by anybody wanting a reliable wireless
infrastructure able to connect any device that comes within its range. That
said, and on the proviso that the price is right, those currently swamped by
traffic and in desperate need of extra Wi-Fi bandwidth might still be tempted to
migrate early. Though at the risk of having to throw all the kit in the bin
within the next 18 months.
History also appears to be repeating itself with WiMax. Operators are
seemingly intent on providing fixed wireless broadband services not in places
where customers are either bereft of or underserved by alternatives, but slap in
the middle of large urban centres where DSL, cable and a barrowful of other
access technologies already vie for custom.
The argument goes along the lines of it being pointless to offer services in
regions where the number of potential customers is insufficient to make
provision worthwhile. So, like the early privatisation of UK bus services, rural
areas will be ignored while in city centres any number of WiMax services will
cut each other up in an attempt to get passengers on board.
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