Wireless Internet

Many people use wireless networking, also called WiFi or 802.11 networking to connect their computers at home and an increasing number of cities use the technology to provide free or low-cost Internet access to residents. In the near future, wireless networking may become so widespread that you can access the Internet just about anywhere at any time, without using wires.


WiFi has a lot of advantages. Wireless networks are easy to set up and inexpensive to run. They are also unobtrusive, unless you are on the lookout for a place to use your laptop, you may not even notice when you are in a hotspot.

A wireless network uses radio waves, just like televisions, mobile phones and radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication. What Happens:
1. A computer's wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna.
2. A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. It sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wired Ethernet connection.
The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computer's wireless adapter.

When the technology was first commercialized there were many problems because consumers could not be sure that products from different vendors would work together. The Wi-Fi Alliance began as a community to solve this issue so as to address the needs of the end user and allow the technology to mature. The Alliance created the branding Wi-Fi CERTIFIED to show consumers that products are interoperable with other products displaying the same branding.


Links of Interest

http://www.wi-fi.org/