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802.11n brings faster wireless Net access
Better range, security
Aside from improved speed, 802.11n can also offer better range and security than 802.11g.
“”I bought my wife a new laptop that has 802.11n and an 802.11n access point, and she’s able to go in the backyard and still have Internet access,” said Schatt.
“So, the range is much greater. Before, when she was using 802.11g, she could only go about halfway through the house.”
That twice-as-far-away-and-maybe-more example is a gauge, but not an absolute, when determining what kind of distance you’ll get with 802.11n.
It also has better security, with stronger encryption, than 802.11g. That makes 802.11n particularly attractive to small- and medium-size businesses, which don’t have the level of IT resources that larger companies do.
“802.11n is not only faster, it’s a lot more reliable,” said Schatt. That’s because it uses “MIMO” — Multiple Input, Multiple Output — technology.
“It means, in effect, you have multiple antennas working,” he said. “So, if a signal doesn’t get through going in one direction, you’re able to send it another way with another antenna, and the signal is more likely to get through.”
The use of multiple antennas also can mean fewer "dead spots" in coverage.
Products labeled as “Turbo G” are 802.11g “basically tied together with a couple of channels, so that you have a wider highway,” Schatt said.
If you’re shopping for 802.11n router, there’s another distinction to keep in mind: there’s also a “dual mode” 802.11n option.
Both 802.11g and 802.11n operate on the 2.4-GHz radio frequency band. Dual-model 802.11n routers run on both the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz frequencies.
The 5-GHz frequency is an even better one to use, especially for large files like videos, because there is less interference from electronic household items.
“While the first wave of Draft 1.0 products supported only the 2.4-GHz spectrum, dual-mode is expected to be the dominant trend as Draft 2.0 (802.11n) and beyond end-products ramp up,” said Putscher of In-Stat.
Universities are early adopters
One place where 802.11n seems to be taking hold is at some of the nation’s universities, said Schatt.
In a recent report, ABI Research noted that Duke University, University of Arizona and Carnegie Mellon University are among the campuses where 802.11 is in place, and that while “the current penetration of the higher education market is only 2.3 percent, that still represents a good rate of uptake for such a new, pre-standard technology.”
“Universities are starting to do a lot more with video over wireless networks, and video requires greater bandwidth than you really have available with other networks,” Schatt said.
“Some universities, for example, are encouraging faculty to videotape their lectures, and then make them available over the wireless network, so that no matter where you are on campus, you can access a lecture.”
Because students “usually don’t go to college with old laptops,” many are going back to campus this fall with computers that have 802.11n, he said.
“So from the university’s perspective, it’s a matter of adding 802.11n access points, which can cost $600 to $700 each, but they can get 10 to 20 students on each one.”
In addition to higher education, the medical and health care industry are likely to move to 802.11n more quickly, Schatt said.
“In health care, they have large files like X-rays that they’re sending, and so they need that kind of throughput,” he said.
No matter where its use, what 802.11n offers “is the ability to really provide some faster technology and future-proof things going forward,” said Gartnerberg. “It’s something that consumers are starting to look forward to.”
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