The Network Security. Org

IF you’ve ever been whacked in the groin with a cricket ball, you’ll know that faster is not always better. However, when it comes to PC networking, speed remains a highly desirable commodity, outranked only by security, reliability and the promise that your genital area won’t be unexpectedly compromised by spherical objects.

The speed on wireless networks has improved somewhat over the years, but still lags behind what can be achieved if you’re prepared to plug a cable into the back of your machine.

The original 802.11b specification (commonly known as WiFi) maxed out at 11Mbps, while 802.11g, the successor standard now in most common use, boosted transmissions to 54Mbps. That might seem enough for web-browsing purposes, especially since most home internet connections are currently unlikely to deliver more than 1Mbps. However, interference from other devices using radio spectrum and the way in which wireless networks transmit their messages mean that in practice, these maximum speeds are never reached

Australian IT - Speeding up the wireless home (Angus Kidman, APRIL 18, 2006)

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