Wireless, a winning formula for networks

July 7, 2010 - PRLog -- The development, integration and application of wireless networking infrastructure continues to drive growth within the networking environment. It remains a force to be reckoned with, certainly from a volume of trade perspective.

Despite a few initial teething problems and a number of specific challenges that have hampered the development of wireless networks – including interference, QoS (Quality of Service), general access and cost, end users are now benefitting from a more mature market and higher levels of innovation. .

To date the rate of adoption of wireless infrastructure has been impacted by the difficulty associated with laying out infrastructure and establishing a fully functional, reliable and connected WLAN network. This problem has been perpetuated by the need for better knowledge, for improved skills and lower costs.

Furthermore the market has been rife with speculation about security or the perceived lack thereof within wireless networks. However, as long as users conform to defacto security standards and features, this should not be an unmanageable problem and is, in fact, not an issue.

Interest in wireless has developed mainly within the corporate space. The home networking environment is a developing market, but has not yet reached a level equal to corporate.
The ‘smart’ home is and will continue to remain an area of general interest, but not a massive, widely-popular segment of the market. There are no uniform standards to support more generic, broader application.

In terms of commerce and industry, the wireless network continues to make a significant impact.
One only has to consider the level of functionality and flexibility housed within the latest available wireless solutions to understand that developers and suppliers of this infrastructure have made definite headway in enhancing offerings and meeting challenges.

Users are now able to successfully negotiate what have been serious barriers to entry into the marketplace, chief amongst which has been the complexity of installation and integration.

For example, would-be investors now have the opportunity to acquire ‘intelligent’ or next-generation wireless infrastructure that can automatically customise network access points.

This eliminates the need to manually adjust these network points, one of several issues that users have been faced with in their question to successfully implement and leverage off wireless technology.

The user can now take advantage of technology that is based on a single channel set-up that removes interference in order to manipulate and take advantage of maximum power. This ensures that larger areas can be covered, requiring fewer devices.  

Access points can be changed or added to increase capacity without a channel planning strategy.

This degree of control over infrastructure results in what established experts in the field call “predictable switch-like performance and consistent client connectivity”. The benefits of this are no dropped calls or handoff delays.

Accessibility, innovation and lower costs have all contributed towards the viability and credibility of wireless infrastructure as a solid, secure form of corporate network. That this ‘intelligent’ technology will emerge as dominant and definitive for the wireless environment is a relatively safe assertion.

Whilst conventional wired setups will always be part of the network environment, the wireless space will continue to attract attention.

I will go as far as to say that this level of wireless technology solution will determine the wireless strategies of the future – particularly within the high volume, enterprise level which is dependent on managed, high-tech networks.