Wireless local area networks (WLANs), and the wireless market in general, have grown rapidly in recent years. WLANs are quickly moving beyond traditional markets – education, healthcare and manufacturing – into new areas such as retail, hospitality, government, transportation etc. In this article, Martin May, Regional Director of Enterasys Networks SA, looks at the future of wireless networking with its once ubiquitous standard – the IEEE-802.11b – being challenged by newcomers Bluetooth and Home RF.
What has led to the growth of wireless LANs? In addition to increased flexibility, better performance and lower costs, the momentum can be traced back to the publication of one single document, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' IEEE-802.11b standard.
This move toward standardisation, combined with vendor cooperation and the Wi-Fi certification process of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) has contributed to wireless LAN growth. In fact, the Wi-Fi symbol has become nearly synonymous with the 802.11b standard. This standard has validated WLAN technology and increased customer confidence in WLANs significantly.
Competition
Recently, two new wireless technologies have emerged to compete with 802.11b - Bluetooth and Home RF. These new technologies increase the choices, and possibly the complexity, for consumers when faced with choosing a wireless product. What will truly take the wireless market to the next level of worldwide acceptance and growth?
A continued, or increased, focus on standardisation will foster one universal standard for wireless technology, leading to global acceptance and explosive growth. By looking at the differences between the 802.11b standard and Bluetooth and Home RF technologies, one can examine which one could become the single worldwide standard for wireless.
A thorough examination shows that 802.11b, currently the only true standard of the three, has a significant lead. The 802.11b standard delivers Ethernet-like 11 Mbps wireless connectivity. Backed by many of the major vendors in the networking arena, 802.11b-compliant access points and PC cards enable wireless connectivity for mobile users within a building or campus environment.
This 11 Mbps standard marks a significant jump in performance from the previous 2 Mbps standard, and sales of 802.11b products have increased rapidly since wireless LANs have exceeded the 10 Mbps speed common to many of today's wired Ethernet networks. 802.11b offers an attractive combination of a wide coverage range and solid performance.
In many cases, users can roam up to approximately 120 m from the access point and still maintain communications links. Another advantage of 802.11b is that the transition between performance levels is seamless as users roam throughout the coverage area, so you receive the benefits of mobility and speed while roaming.
802.11b networks offer good scalability as well, with the ability to add hundreds or even thousands of end-users by adding more WLAN access points.
Security
Security, a concern common to WLAN users, is addressed by encryption features offered at the 40 bit level and even the 128 bit level by some vendors today.
802.11b has made significant progress in interoperability as well. Several vendors have recently come together to participate in interoperability labs, such as the independent lab at the University of New Hampshire, and to participate in the Wi-Fi certification process.
In addition, organisations such as WECA and the Wireless Ethernet Alliance (WLANA) further encourage vendor interoperability and actively promote and support 802.11b through their members. Organisations like WLANA and WECA play an integral role in driving vendors to create, develop and finalise standards - further speeding the growth of wireless LANs.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth was formed in February 1998 by a consortium known as the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). It was created around the concept of a wireless personal area network (PAN) with the goal of enabling wireless connectivity between personal computers and portable handheld devices, such as PDAs, Palm devices, cellphones and digital PCS phones.
Bluetooth could play an important role in the wireless market because of the growth of handheld devices, especially as these devices now offer Internet access. Bluetooth offers range (10 m) and scalability (80 ad hoc nodes) more suited to the personal area network, and should not be thought of for Wireless LAN scenarios.
Home RF
Home RF was formed in 1998 to develop wireless connectivity between PCs and consumer-oriented electronic devices for the home. It was developed by the Home RF Working Group (HRFWG) to address the home and consumer needs for wireless connectivity, with the feeling that the 802.11 standard was too focused on the needs of enterprise environments. The HRFWG created a wireless specification for homes called Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP).
Home RF faces two challenges: 1) the range of its products (especially at higher bandwidths) and 2) regulatory approval.
Home RF's 1,6 Mbps products were barely reaching the ranges of its 802.11b competitors, and SWAP was not previously approved for high-rate radio transmission. Only until recently (August 2000) did the FCC rule to allow 10 Mbps rates for Home RF.
Summary
In all, standardisation and interoperability are the keys to wide acceptance of any new technology, including wireless. While Home RF and Bluetooth offer benefits to home and mobile users, they potentially negate the benefit of true user mobility from the office to the home.
Consumers do not want to have different technologies for the home and the office. The ideal scenario is one technology to seamlessly operate between the home and office.
Therefore, Bluetooth and Home RF could further segment and cloud an already confusing wireless landscape. By actively promoting and pursuing one standard, the established 802.11b standard, wireless LANs will eventually move outside of the office and campus and migrate into new frontiers, including the home and personal network.
For further information contact Enterasys, (011) 646 3323, [email protected]
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