Wireless N solutions

Wireless is now widely used in home and offices where it provides low-cost, flexible networking without the need for expensive or intrusive cabling systems. It is typically used for allowing personal computers and laptops to access network resources from anywhere in the house or office without the need for unsightly cables. Outside the home or office it is widely supported in public wireless hotspots such as airports, hotels, transportation hubs and cafes where travelling business users can access their email and office systems while on the move.

The new IEEE 802.11n draft v2.0 wireless devices enable new applications which though feasible, were susceptible to disruption and disturbance without new high speed wireless technologies. The initial deployment of IEEE 802.11n devices happens with the upgrading of wireless access points to achieve more efficient transmission rates and better coverage. Following this, power users using multimedia applications for instance, can upgrade their wireless adapters to use multiple antennae and reap the full benefit of IEEE 802.11n.

Audio and Video Streaming

In the home, the success of services such as Apple´s iTunes® and Microsoft MediaCenter® together with the popularity of music streaming are turning home computers into true media entertainment centres. In this role they will also be ideal for streaming videos using the new MPEG-4 encoding standards once licensing and royalty schemes are sorted out. Wireless N means that music and films can be enjoyed anywhere in the house instead of only in the room containing the computer and broadband connection as shown in Figure 1.

Office voice streaming

In the office environment, high speed wireless can be used not only to improve the performance and reliability but also to increase the reachable range of wireless devices.
Improved performance and reliability means that new applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP) within the office can drastically reduce the costs of using phones both for landlines and mobile phones as shown in Figure 2.

With a Wi-Fi enabled phone, such calls can be routed over the local wireless and wired LAN ensuring such calls are free. The increased range of IEEE 802.11n devices means that more parts of the building can be reached without the need for extra access points or wireless repeaters. For offices this means cost savings due to the reduction in the number of access points; for home users this means that dead spots in the house can be virtually eliminated.