This is modern wireless technology of computers connection to the network or connecting them to the internet. Just with the help of this technology the internet gets mobile and gives the user the opportunity to be mobile: both in the limit of a room and worldwide. Technology provides simultaneous work in the network of several dozens of the active users; speed of information transmission for the final subscriber can reach 108Mbit/sec. Wi-Fi access is available for note-book and personal pocket computer, web-camera or wireless IP-telephone owners equipped with the proper module meeting the IEEE 802.11 standard.


Perspectives of Wi-Fi

Nowadays Wi-Fi dramatically turns up from high technological novelty into the process that we can’t imagine our daily routine. Just recently there was a necessity to buy Wi0Fi antenna for note-books separately but now it is possible to purchase one as a set implemented inside of it. The mechanisms as well: as an example can serve all large manufactures are working out double-diapason cellular telephones. Analytics are confirmed that everything will be recruited by Wi-Fi access as the time progresses. Moreover, they speak about absolutely new types of mechanisms which will specially be destined for Wi-Fi opportunities.


Advantages of Wi-Fi

- Absence of wires
The network is based on wireless Wi-Fi technology which does not require using the telephone or any other lines of connection based on wires. Data transmission is carried out through air on a very high frequency which doesn’t influence a man and does not create hindrances of electronic equipment.

- New horizons
First of all is mobility. You are not tied up to your working place any more still having connection with based, e-mail, colleagues and friends.

- Possibility of some mobility
Since you are not tied up to wires, you can easily change location of your computer not worrying about connection withdrawal (in the cover area of access point).

- High-speed access to Internet
A high-speed access to internet is offered for network subscribers. Meanwhile, there is no necessity for ringing up or connection defining, etc. You are always on-line and to be connected to internet it is just enough to open your browser.

- Any kind of intranet information exchange
Your intranet communication is no how limited and you can send any files, communicate in chat, play network games, etc.


History of Wi-Fi

There are only two ways to get rid of the wires - infrared transmission or radio transmission of information. The first way, alas, is not mobile - it “works” only at straight visibility of transmitter and receiver of information. The history of Wi-Fi development dates from the middle of 1990’s. The given technology of information transmission through radio channel had been worked out and implemented mainly in local networks of large corporations and the companies of the US Silicone valley.

The connection with a mobile subscriber (usually it was a company’s employee provided with a note-book and wireless network adopter) was organized through “points of access”, connected to cable infrastructure of the company. Meanwhile, in the cover area of each point (several dozens of meters) there could be up to 20 subscribers using the network resources at the same time.

Originally the term Wi-Fi was used to indicate technology which provided the connection in diapason of 2,4 and by standard of IEEE 802.11b (speed of information transmission is up to 11Mbit/sec).

However, presently, this term is more frequently used in the context of other wireless LAN technologies. The most significant ones are regulated by IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g Standards (transmission speed – up to 54 Mbit/s, frequency coverage - 5 GHz and 2,4 GHz, respectively).

Challenging is the family of IEEE 802.16 Standards, which are currently under development (802.16a Standard is already accepted). These ensures the data transmission at a 70 Mbit/s minimum speed.

The maximum speed of data transmission supported by this technology, being originally 1 Mbit/s, eventually grew up to 11 Mbit/s. Along with the speed growing, the wireless communication equipment cheapened. Thus, it became affordable for private persons, and by the end of 1990's the territories of large USA and European cities began to be covered by zones, slangy called ‘hot spots’.

The commercial advantage of such hot-spots became obvious very shortly, and they came into use at airports, hotels and restaurants. Both, technologies of traffic coding of wireless networks and authorization systems allowing to “block” a hot-spot from “hacker” access, were simultaneously introduced. Such band of wireless data transmission with their security became to be called Wi-Fi. As a result, wireless office became mobile, satisfying the need of a modern man to “move”. Businessmen used Internet services during trips and work in hotels as in their own offices.