Conclusion

The common misperception on 802.11b was that its maximum range was limited to 100 meters. With proper engineering, it can reach 20 miles point to point. The rollout of the 802.16 MAN protocol allows the extension of 802.11b and associated wireless protocols over a wide geographic area. By stepping down from a MAN to lower bandwidth networks, wireless networks can reach out to residential markets and other low-density markets. Ad hoc peer-to-peer networks, by virtue of not requiring expensive infrastructure, are perhaps the most cost-effective means of extending a wireless network. This has the potential to extend the network even further. Here, the subscribers are the network.

Wi-Fi systems act like small routers, with each node relaying to its nearest neighbors. Messages hop peer to peer across a broad interconnected nexus. This produces a broadband telecommunications system, built by separate, independent, interconnecting with each other for their common good. Figure 3-7 graphically illustrates how bandwidth is distributed via a series of interlocking networks.

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Figure 3-7: Extending the range of wireless data transmission via architecture

Two facts make this peer-to-peer structure so interesting. First, its emergence and growth are viral. Viral telecommunications is a truly new, bottom-up phenomenon. This produces a broadband telecommunications system, comprised of separate entities interconnecting with each other for their common good. Second, its performance increases with the number of nodes. Metcalf's Law states that the value of a network increases exponentially with the addition of every new node. In this topology, having more nodes equals better service. By empowering the subscribers to be the ne twork, the cost to service providers is drastically reduced. The network could also be communally owned.[11]

[11]Nicholas Negroponte, "Being Wireless," WIRED Magazine 10, no. 10 (October 2002): 119.



Wi-Fi Handbook(c) Building 802.11b Wireless Networks
Wi-Fi Handbook : Building 802.11b Wireless Networks
ISBN: 0071412514
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 96

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