Moving Up: 802.11a

A constant complaint about wireless networking has long been that it's too slow, but no longer. 802.11a equipment is now widely available, and it offers a maximum speed about half as fast as FastEthernet (100 megabits per second).

802.11a equipment is especially good for corporate users who need a speedy technology to extend their existing wired networks by adding 802.11a access points (Figure 5.3). The price for 802.11a is nearly twice that of 802.11b, so most home users won't likely consider it. In addition, at the time of this writing, only laptop adapters were available, furthering the point that the technology is first being marketed to corporate users who want to use fast wireless technology for laptops, not desktops.

Figure 5.3. You can add wireless capability to an existing wired network using an 802.11a access point with a built-in hub.

Like 802.11b equipment, you can use an 802.11a access point to combine wired and wireless hardware. For instance, you could use an 802.11a access point to share a cable modem.

You could also connect the access point to a hub, which opens up quite a few options. For example you could connect to the hub phoneline or powerline networking hardware, creating a mixed wireless and wired network that will easily offer access to the network in every room in your home.

Next, we check out the upcoming 802.11 standards that are meant to both speed up and simplify wireless networking.