2005

Wi-Fi May Cause Radical Changes
By Bill Klymochko

 

There is a wireless technology currently being deployed that just might totally change how we communicate. It’s called “Wi-Fi”, short for "Wireless Fidelity" and operates in Spectrum bands that have been set aside by Industry Canada for unrestricted and unlicensed consumer use.

Wi-Fi was originally intended for personal computer wireless local area networks (W-LAN). However, Wi-Fi allows for wireless connection to the Internet when in proximity of an access point called a “Hotspot”.

You may have seen them. Hotspots are areas within public venues such as airports, hotels, and coffee shops where patrons that carry a laptop or personal digital assistant gain high-speed access to the Internet. One can surf while leisurely having a cup of coffee.

Wi-Fi is cheap, powerful, and, most important, it works. A small box, which costs about $100, magically distributes broadband Internet to an area the size of a football field. A card costing about $60 is put in your laptop to receive it. As Wi-Fi equipment continues to fall in price, it's likely that these Wi-Fi Hotspots will grow dense and then overlap.

Wi-Fi is being deployed in residential areas faster than in the office. Companies are cautious about the security implications of a technology that spills into the street, but most home users are too dazzled to care. Users, such as neighbouring apartment dwellers, are establishing Wi-Fi “networks” to share a broadband connection. However, such networks can allow “hitch-hiker” users as the signal is available to the public.

And, how will one know if you’re in a Hotspot? Several companies are working on key chains, cards, and pendants that will glow in the presence of a Wi-Fi signal and then advise if the connection is free for you to log on to.

A word of caution: the most common wireless encryption standard that Wi-Fi uses is called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). WEP has been shown to be breakable. This means that “identify theft” rogues could be receiving information you’re sending to the InterNet while having lunch. Remember, this is a “wireless” technology.

 

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