Is Your Wireless Network Out of Date?

If you offer wireless network services to clients, you may have already been asked about Wireless N. Could it be that your investment in a wireless network is already worthless? Luckily that is not the case. You still have plenty of life left in your “old“ 802.11G wireless network. Though some early adopters may be asking for N based networks, there are few benefits that a Wireless N network will provide.

Wireless N is the latest and greatest wireless technology. It’s faster and further reaching. It is also not ready yet. The international standards committee in charge of such matters doesn’t anticipate approving Wireless N until late 2008. That hasn’t stopped numerous manufacturers from offering “Pre-N” products. This happens because a standard like Wireless N is reviewed for years before final approval. At this late stage it is unlikely to change significantly before final approval is granted. However it is possible that if you buy “Pre-N” equipment today it will not work with Wireless N cards released next year.

The new wireless will be several times faster and reach about twice as far. That is good news for owners of wireless networks. Your next network should require fewer access points. Don’t be fooled by claims of faster speeds. Though the claims are accurate the bottleneck in speed is not your wireless network. Existing wireless networks are between 5 and 25 times faster than their internet connection. Unless you upgrade your internet connection, your users will probably not see a significant speed increase from Wireless N.

For wireless sensitive consumers like business travelers, Wireless N offers attractive benefits. The improved wireless experience they are expecting will require a complete network upgrade and a significant internet connection upgrade.

The End of Passwords

Are you still requiring passwords on your wireless network? Why? They frustrate users and provide only limited security benefits to you. There are alternatives. Cisco, Sonicwall, and other wireless vendors make it easy to provide alternate login methods. Instead of requesting a password you should be directing all traffic to a secure website. At this website you can collect valuable user information such as email addresses or payment information. Once the user completes the information form they are granted access to the web.

Wireless Cell Phones

Many cell phones are now equipped with the same wireless network cards used in full sized computers. When in range of a wireless network the phone will use the wireless internet connection for all data traffic. This is a much faster connection than even the best cellular internet connections. Microsoft and others are promoting the use of wireless networks to send the call in addition to internet traffic. This can provide the user with many more call features at a lower cost. It will also provide the wireless network owner with yet another set of reasons to upset the user. Most wireless networks are not able to transmit calls without serious loss of quality.

It should come as no surprise that the traffic on your wireless is constantly increasing. Year after year your wireless network will have to support more devices using more bandwidth with increasing quality. Your wireless network investment will require constant upkeep to attract high value clients.