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Going Wi-Fi. A Practical Guide to Planning and Building an 802.11 Network Authors: Reynolds J., Greene B Published year: 2003 Pages: 26-27/273 |
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Conclusion
No one doubts that Wi-Fi will experience dramatic growth. However, as the reader should now understand, the devil is in the details. To usher this technology and its pervasive applications into homes and businesses requires the resources of many companies, working in concert. After all, an entire ecosystem must be created.
Will the industry work as a team and make it to the playoffs? It's possible, even probable. Still, the way the author sees it-at this writing-the compelling reason why most people must have a Wi-Fi network, at work or in their home is still lacking. So, although the industry as a whole has taken a giant leap forward in its effort to fuel the Wi-Fi flame, additional "fanning" is still needed.
Perhaps we're looking in the wrong direction. Maybe it's the cellular industry that will fan consumers' desire for all things Wi-Fi. With the advent of a cellular / Wi-Fi partnership, Wi-Fi will find itself catapulted into the "must have" category. (Keep this in mind when you read Chapter 13, which is devoted to this very subject.)
Finally, for Wi-Fi to continue its upward-spiraling growth pattern, the regulatory agencies must do their part. They must continue to govern Wi-Fi with a light touch-if they feel the need to impose a heavy regulatory hand, they can easily stop innovation.
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Chapter 4: The Regulators' Role
Overview
The successful, long- term development of the Wi-Fi industry is contingent upon the availability of spectrum for its expansion. But for decades spectrum has been considered a scarce resource-a resource that governments must carefully control and manage. To that end, every country has established some sort of regulatory body to oversee its strict regulation.
Some regulatory bodies will aid Wi-Fi in its rise to prominence in an effort to establish their respective countries as infotech hubs, others will not. Most regulatory agencies, however, will take a balanced stance, acting to prevent spectrum overcrowding while at the same time promoting Wi-Fi interoperability and QoS standards.
Over the last decade or so, high-speed wireless local area networks (WLANs) were made possible because various regulatory agencies decided to set aside a small swath of unlicensed radio frequencies and to allow anyone who followed a simple set of rules to use that spectrum with no administrative process or fee for access. Much of Wi-Fi's popularity is due to the fact that it can operate in this unlicensed spectrum and this popularity is creating a new generation of people who use Wi-Fi and exploit its unique technology through creative applications.
There is pressure being put to bear on regulatory agencies, however, to inhibit this mainly grassroots innovation. If history can be our guide, government officials are at this moment being lobbied to impose changes in the regulations-changes that could be detrimental to Wi-Fi's growth. Large telcos, cellular providers, broadcasters and the military constantly challenge regulatory agencies' spectrum allocations .
The worry is that as the result of those challenges, the regulators will step in and end all of the creativity Wi-Fi has wrought. Thus, it's these governmental regulatory agencies that are the key to the continuance (or the dampening ) of the Wi-Fi boom.
Before we look at how the various regulatory agencies are dealing with the Wi-Fi phenomenon , we first need to discuss what's at stake-spectrum. Do you understand what we mean by "spectrum"? If not, here is a very brief tutorial.
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Going Wi-Fi. A Practical Guide to Planning and Building an 802.11 Network Authors: Reynolds J., Greene B Published year: 2003 Pages: 26-27/273 |
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