What is Wireless Technology?

When viewed as a method of data transport, wireless technology appears very similar to wired technology. You have a piece of hardware, a method of transmission, and connections on both ends that transform data from human-intelligible to transportable and back. For both wired and wireless technology, the range of transmission is an issue. You can't move your laptop 15 feet from the wall jack when depending on a 10-foot cable. Similarly, you can't go out for a jog and expect your in-home cordless phone to keep a connection five miles away from its receiver. But if you get either a 20-foot cable or a wireless connector of sufficient power, you can move your laptop 15 feet away from the wall jack; and if you get a cellular phone, you can go jogging five miles away from your house and still take calls (as long as your service provider has a reasonable antenna set up).

The methods of connection and ranges of service available vary in wireless technology just as they do in wired technology. Home telephones with a wireless handset have a more limited range than cellular phones; infrared transmissions have a more limited range than radio-wave (including microwave) transmissions. Different types of wireless solutions can communicate ten feet, ten miles, or with a satellite in orbit.

For More Information

The links below provide some basic information on wireless technology.

http://search.about.com/

Search for wireless + networking on search.about.com for an extensive list of links to information.

http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/wireless/

Campus-specific information on wireless networking.

Networking and Computing 101 How Does Information Travel Across the Campus Network? How Does Email Reach Its Destination? What Does Your Netid Do For You? What is a URL? What is Wireless Technology? Which Operating System Are You Using?