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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