ad info

 
CNN.com  technology > computing
    Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 
TECHNOLOGY
TOP STORIES

Consumer group: Online privacy protections fall short

Guide to a wired Super Bowl

Debate opens on making e-commerce law consistent

(MORE)

TOP STORIES

More than 11,000 killed in India quake

Mideast negotiators want to continue talks after Israeli elections

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

ENTERTAINMENT

HEALTH

TRAVEL

FOOD

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
*
 
CNN Websites
Networks image


Bringing broadband to the backwoods

Network World Fusion

March 3, 2000
Web posted at: 1:11 p.m. EST (1811 GMT)

(IDG) -- Living in a rural locale definitely has advantages - more trees, fewer cars, fresh air. However, it also has disadvantages. Finding The New York Times on Sunday can be hard, and sushi bars are few and far between. Most difficult - for those with home offices - is that broadband connections are just about nonexistent.

Take Danny, for example. He's been waiting patiently for someone, anyone, to offer digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable modem access for his home office. Unfortunately, he's just far enough away from his telco central office, ISP point of presence and cable head end to make that wait require the patience of Job. On the wireless front, the major Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service and local multipoint distribution services providers aren't exactly beating down his door.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
IDG.net   IDG.net home page
  Breaking the LAN traffic jam
  Analyst sees phone calls moving to the LAN
  Standards-based wireless networking with Linux
  IDG.net's network operating systems page
  Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
  E-BusinessWorld
  Year 2000 World
  Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
  Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for network experts
  Search IDG.net in 12 languages
  News Radio
  * Fusion audio primers
  * Computerworld Minute

There is, however, a rapidly maturing wireless option that may save the day. A LAN technology getting attention in the home network and small office/home office markets, 802.11 Wireless Ethernet, can be extended to the WAN connection. You're probably already familiar with some of the 802.11 LAN products on the market - the PC cards and wireless access points that allow your executives to roam the office, laptop in tow, and stay connected to the LAN. Inexpensive 802.11 gear is also making a splash in the residential market, with companies like Apple bundling wireless networking into laptops and desktops.

Using the same standard (up to 11M bit/sec) and the same 2.4-GHz unlicensed spectrum, several manufacturers are beginning to offer outdoor wireless bridges that can stretch your LAN connection into a WAN connection, with ranges now extending up to 15 miles. Much of this gear is being used for corporate campus applications or for connecting nearby branch offices to headquarters. Another hot application for this gear is providing temporary point-to-point connectivity for special events such as conferences.

Additionally, a number of ISPs are beginning to look into this technology because the wireless bridges have point-to-multipoint capabilities that can make it easy to turn up multiple broadband wireless connections without having to spend a lot more on radio frequency hardware. On the client end, an external antenna and another wireless bridge connect to your home PC by Ethernet or wirelessly using 802.11 PC and ISA cards.

The biggest problem you'll probably face with implementing this kind of solution for your remote workers who are truly remote is finding an ISP that has deployed this gear. It may take a heart-to-heart talk with your local ISP to convince it to do the install. The hardware costs aren't too high, but the potential throughput of the system may overwhelm a local ISP that relies on a single T-1 connection to serve its usual V.90 customer base.

Until DSL and cable move out to that last 10% of the market or G-3 broadband personal communications services become a reality, this may be your best bet the boonies.



RELATED STORIES:
Gates aims for wireless blue yonder
March 1, 2000
Ericsson's entry revitalizes WebPad scene
February 29, 2000
IP multicasting over DSL
February 8, 2000
Sun-Netscape Alliance goes wireless
February 2, 2000
Doubling DSL's distance
February 1, 2000
Wireless Web whirlwind
January 25, 2000
Wireless standard threatened by GeoWorks claim of patent infringement
January 25, 2000
Verisign aims to secure wireless transactions
January 19, 2000
Here comes the wireless monster
January 18, 2000

RELATED IDG.net STORIES:
Analyst sees phone calls moving to the LAN
(IDG.net)
Standards-based wireless networking with Linux
(Linuxworld)
COMDEX: Wireless LANs take flight
(PC World)
Intel boosts LAN security
(IDG.net)
Breaking the LAN traffic jam
(Sunworld)
Pulling the plug on ATM
(Network World Fusion)
Wireless home LANs get cheaper
(PC World)
What is ATM?
(CIO)

RELATED SITES:
Bandwidth Forum
General Introduction to DSL

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 Search   

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.