Wireless ISP

Wirelesses ISP (Internet Service Providers) are companies that provide Internet access through Wi-Fi (for "Wireless Fidelity"). Wireless ISP provides high-speed access to the Internet without the use of a phone line. Much like a radio signal, data is transmitted to and from your computer via antennas. The data travels from your computer, to an antenna mounted outside your residence or business, and then proceeds through a series of antennas placed every three to five miles until it gets to your Internet provider.

Wireless ISP can compete with xDSL and cable modem service speeds, and it may even pass them up. Depending on the service package you get from your provider, Wireless Internet Service access can range from 1.0 megabits per second (mbps) to 11 mbps.

Technically, Wi-Fi a set of standards for wireless networks based on the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet standards. Certified products includes Wi-Fi logo, that indicates the product it’s interoperable with anyone else that includes the logo. Wi-Fi was intended to be used for wireless LANs, but is now often also used for Internet access. Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance), the trade organization that defines the Wi-Fi standards.

There are at least three types of Wi-Fi, each based on an IEEE 802.11 standard.

1. IEEE 802.11b enjoys international acceptance, as the 2.4-GHz radio frequency band is almost universally available. 802.11b hardware can transmit data at speeds of up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps). The first commercial use of the 802.11b standard for networking was made by Apple Computer under the trademark AirPort.
2. IEEE 802.11g operates in the same frequency band as 802.11b, and is therefore backwards compatible with certain older Wi-Fi hardware. 802.11g hardware can transfer data at up to 54 Mbps. The first commercial use of 802.11g was also made by Apple, under the trademark AirPort Extreme.
3. IEEE 802.11a, which operates around the 5 GHz band, enjoys relatively clear-channel operation in the United States and Japan. In other areas, such as the EU, 802.11a is not yet approved for operation in the 5 GHz band, and European regulators are still considering the use of the European HIPERLAN standard.

Some argue that Wi-Fi and related consumer technologies hold the key to replacing cellular telephone networks such as GSM. Some obstacles to this happening in the near future are missing roaming and authentication features and the narrowness of the available spectrum. Despite such problems, companies like SocketIP and Symbol Technologies are offering telephony platforms (Central Office replacements and terminals (phones)) that use Wi-Fi transport.

Advantages of Wireless ISP: First of all there are WLAN products on the market. They have been on the market for some time so the biggest bugs have been corrected. So the products should be quite reliable. Also there is competition lowering the prices. The laptops with WLAN cards are easy to use if the whole area where the laptop is used is covered. Electricity is more easily accessible than LAN. Laptops are also not sensitive to tiny breaks of unsecured electricity. The battery of a laptop can last many hours so the electrical connection may not be required at all during one lecture or meeting.

When moving around, the laptop can be on and all the time in the network. The same file on a network drive can be altered, web pages browsed or an email extended when moving around from one classroom to another.