A LAN line

A LAN line
Jan 11th 2001 | SAN FRANCISCO
From The Economist print edition 

ALMOST unnoticed, a new wireless data networking standard, unmemorably
called 802.11b, has been gaining ground on more widely touted ways of
gaining wireless access to the Internet. University students, company
staff and computer geeks are increasingly using wireless LANs (local
area networks) to log on while they are out and about. Companies such as
MobileStar and Wayport are installing the necessary equipment in
airports, hotel lobbies and sports stadiums. There is even a growing
"free-network movement" of sorts, whose members provide free wireless
Internet access in their neighbourhoods.

On January 3rd, the technology got another boost when Microsoft and
Starbucks announced that they are to join forces to offer wireless
access, using 802.11b among other standards, in most of Starbucks'
coffee outlets over the next two years. The deal, some analysts say, is
a further sign that 802.11b could become a serious competitor to
better-known wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, HomeRF, or even
next-generation cellular networks. 

Such a prediction would have sounded ludicrous only a couple of years
ago. Wireless LANs were then relatively slow, expensive and rare. But in
November 1999, America's Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) ratified the 802.11b standard for wireless data
connections of up to 11 megabits per second-200 times faster than a fast
PC modem. Once big manufacturers such as Cisco and Lucent started
building hardware based on the new standard, prices for the gear began
to tumble. 

Apple was the first to launch an 802.11b product line (called AirPort).
All its computers now include a built-in antenna which, in conjunction
with a networking card, can exchange data with a small base station
plugged into a broadband Internet connection up to 45 metres (150 feet)
away. Although some PC laptops now come pre-equipped with wireless
hardware, most users buy a credit card-sized piece of hardware that goes
into a laptop's card slot and doubles as an antenna. Including a base
station, networking kits for PCs start at around $400. They were popular
Christmas presents in California last year.

Wireless networking, even over such short ranges, is attractive for
several reasons. Because a single base station can support several
machines, all the machines in a house or small office can be connected
without having to run cables everywhere, and they can be moved around
easily. It did not take long for inventive individuals to begin using
the technology, developed for indoor use, outside. For instance, in
parts of San Francisco's Presidio, a former military base turned vast
park, you can sit on a bench and surf wirelessly-thanks to Brewster
Kahle, a high-tech entrepreneur and founder of SFLan, an experimental
Internet service provider. He and his friends have put up antennae on
several buildings nearby. 

SFLan and similar efforts such as Consume.net (in London), Guerrilla.net
(in Cambridge, Massachusetts), and Seattle Wireless are reminiscent of
the open-source movement, whose members contribute to free software such
as the operating system Linux. Mr Kahle hopes that his initiative will
grow into a citywide wireless LAN "from anarchistic
co-operation"-meaning an army of volunteers putting up radio beacons on
their rooftops. 

Such efforts reveal one big barrier for the technology, however: it is
not yet clear how the economics will work. Free wireless LANs will
sooner or later encounter free-rider problems. Commercial providers will
succeed only if users are willing to pay a fee. One possibility is that
firms which make their money elsewhere, such as airlines, will offer the
service as a free "extra" to attract customers. 

There could also be technical problems. The 802.11b standard uses the
unregulated 2.4 gigahertz radio band, which is already overloaded with
cordless phones, microwave ovens and streetlights. Users need to be
computer-savvy to configure their connection. And security was not a
priority when the standard was designed. Hackers have penetrated
corporate networks by driving up to the parking lot, switching on a
laptop, and logging on to the firm's wireless LAN. 

http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=473081


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