Although wireless technologies encompass everything from cell phones to remote controls, “Wi-Fi” refers to a specific industry standard. Known as 802.11 in geek talk, it operates at unprecedented speeds by beaming data from a Wi-Fi radio hooked up to the Internet. The radio waves travel over a finite area, ranging from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand feet. Inside that range, a properly equipped computer or PDA can pick up the signals. Wi-Fi “cuts the cord between your desktop unit or your laptop unit and the network,” says Michael Disabato, a senior analyst at the Burton Group who specializes in wireless technologies.
According to Gartner, a research firm, Wi-Fi is catching on–it estimates the number of users in North America will grow nearly tenfold between 2003 and 2007, reaching 31 million. Europe is expected to follow suit, and IDC Research predicts 110 percent worldwide growth in the number of “hot spots”–public places where you can use Wi-Fi–over the next five years. In Asia, Wi-Fi growth is starting to pick up speed after struggling to get off the ground last year.
More important, the technology is getting easier to use. The industry learned from the problem that plagued the first bout of wireless products in the mid-’90s: incompatibility. To avoid that pitfall, a group of industry players started the Wireless Fidelity Alliance (or Wi-Fi) in 1999 to set an industry standard. Most new PDAs now have Wi-Fi connectivity, which means they can communicate with all Wi-Fi-certified equipment and networks. “The technology is just now starting to hit its stride,” says Disabato.
So, how do you get Wi-Fied? There are two components–the wireless card and the wireless base station. The card gives your device, whether it’s a laptop, a desktop or a PDA, wireless capability. If your computer didn’t come with an internal Wi-Fi card, you can insert one into its PC card slot, or into its USB port via an adapter. Most cards now run about $50. Some favorites are Netgear’s wireless PC card, the Apple AirPort card and the Intel Pro/Wireless adapter. Base stations, which provide the access points or gateways to the wireless networks, are available from the same companies that sell the cards and cost $100 to $350.
Access points are popping up everywhere–in offices, restaurants, hotels, airports and even parks. Companies like Verizon Wireless, France Telecom and British Telecom are putting their muscle behind a broader rollout. T-Mobile has started adding hot spots to Starbucks; a partnership among IBM, AT&T and Intel will help Wi-Fi 300 McDonald’s outlets by the end of the year. In Asia, Korea Telecom wants to have 16,000 hot spots in Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Melbourne by December. Last month Lufthansa announced plans to offer Wi-Fi access in-flight. The Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin and W hotel chains now boast Wi-Fi access points, too. (To find your nearest hot spot, go to wi-fizone.org.)
One lingering hurdle is that many hot spots require “authentication,” which means you have to pay each time you log on to a different network. But some providers, led by Boingo (boingo.com), offer monthly subscription services that allow the subscriber to operate almost anywhere. So, technophobes be warned: the ease and convenience of Wi-Fi might finally entice you into the 21st century.
