Wireless Networking for Notebook Computers

Wi-Fi (short for wireless fidelity) networking is perfect for notebooks and other mobile devices. It has recently become quite popular and is readily available either built into a notebook computer or as a PCMCIA card.

The 802.11 standard was developed by the IEEE for wireless LAN technology and is available in three flavors:

802.11b

802.11b is the cheapest and most widely used Wi Fi standard currently, is uses the 2.4ghz spectrum and provides up to 11 Mbps throughput (4-6 Mbps average). It can be used in 802.11g networks.

802.11g

802.11g combines the speed of 802.11a with backwards compatibility to 802.11b, it uses the 2.4ghz spectrum and can provide up to 54 Mbps speeds (25-30 Mbps average). It can be used in 802.11b networks.

802.11a

802.11a used to be the high speed alternative to 802.11b but has fallen to the wayside in favor of 802.11g because it isn't backwards compatible with the slower 802.11b. It uses the 5ghz spectrum which means less potential interference from other devices such as cell phones and microwaves but shorter range than 2.4ghz devices. Throughput up to 54 Mbps (25-30 Mbps average).

Bluetooth?

Bluetooth has a fairly short range and slow speed, it is primarily used to connect devices such as cell phones and PDA's together or to your notebook.