WiFi Network

1.     WiFi Network

Have you ever seen a wireless communication network? The technology is known as Wirelless Fidelity (WiFi).  Wireless technology uses high frequency in spectrum 2,4 GHz. You can connect to the Internet using a notebook, a PDA or a smartphone that is equipped with a WiFi card. However, if your notebook uses a processor that is equipped with mobile technology, WiFi card is not needed. By using WiFi, you can access the Internet up to 11Mbps. You do not need wire to connect to a network, but you must be within the coverage of WiFi signals. The area that has WiFi signal is within the radius 100 meter from the access point or hotspot.

            There are three components in a hotspot as follows.

1. Access Point (access point/center) is a device that connects wireless LAN technology to the ethernet in a computer. Access point has the capacity to serve users up to 128 points. The area that can be reached by an access point is 25-100 meter.
2. Access controller is a device that functions as an authenticating device to check if a user has the right or permission to have internet access.
3. Internet Link is a device that connects a hotspot location to the Internet. Internet Link has the capacity to serve all users in a location.

Besides its advantages, WiFi also has some limitations. One of them is the maximum distance between an access point to a computer that is going to access the Internet is only 100 meter. Today, access points are installed in only certain places. The places are usually public places like campuses, hotels, cafes, and airports.

WiFi technology enables you to access  the Internet  with high speed, but you must be within the coverage of WiFi signals. The limited coverage of WiFi signal and the limited range distance (about 100 m) cause you to use WiFi only in certain areas. Today a new wireless technology called Wireless Broadband (WiBro) is introduced. Yet, Wireless Broadband is in the development stage and not yet released. Compared to WiFi, WiBro can be accessed within 1 kilometer  from the access point with access speed up to 512 kbps. WiBro can still be accessed from mobile vehicles whose speed is up to 60 km/hour.