In planning for the migration to a wireless network arrangement, the planner must be certain of his or her plan. Wireless applications require antennas and base stations to receive and transmit wireless signals between a mobile terminal and a mini base station. The planner must be certain that antenna coverage can be established throughout the area(s) to be served by the wireless terminals.
While most wireless modems and RF base stations work, many may not be interoperable between vendor equipment. Because there are so many vendors offering products, the planner needs to be certain of the vendor's commitment to the market. Now that the 802.11 standard has been accepted, the planner should not consider proprietary systems to avoid early obsolescence; many products and vendors of the early 1990s that had great products are no longer with us.
Wireless network arrangements provide a great deal of flexibility, but the planner should limit the migration to a wireless network arrangement to those applications that will produce a reasonable savings in terms of reduced manpower.
Application software requires careful review because much of the software designed to function over a LAN with standard PCs may not work the same way with a laptop PC. Furthermore, because many mobile terminals are configured with Windows CE software, one needs to be aware of the differences and their interface to the LAN operating system. Where the opportunity for the application of wireless technology is limited, the planner may find opportunities for direct linking of facilities to avoid central office dedicated circuit costs for voice and data transport. With many of the newer systems on the market, the planner can gain greater reach than before to link company facilities. By working with an ISP provider, many times the planner can arrange for a rooftop Internet radio to link the ISP hub directly with the corporate network hub, thus providing much-higher-speed access to the Internet for corporate network users.