Saturday, February 12, 2011

Wireless Internet: Is It Better Than Wired?

The greatest difference between your wired internet connection and the wireless internet connection is just that - the wires. The wired connection uses a router or network cards (which are usually built into your computer) and the wires which connect your computer to the router. On the contrary, wireless internet does not have so many connection hassles. The only components you need are your computer and a router. How does the wireless internet work? Well, your Wi-Fi internet provider would have towers in the vicinity which are designed to receive radio signals from the provider. The antenna in your computer receives the signal from the tower. So when your computer successfully receives the radio signal transmitted by the nearest tower, you are connected to the Internet.

Commercial enterprises in their struggle to offer better services to their customers have set up wireless internet hubs in certain areas. In many cases, such services are offered free by the business owners to lure more customers. As mentioned above, the wireless internet services provider uses radio signals over long distances to get the end user connected to the Internet. However, since the radius of the radio signal is limited, it becomes weaker as you move further away from the tower. Therefore it is necessary that the user be in a specific area to enjoy seamless connectivity. If you move out of the range of the tower, you will be disconnected. For a service that promises internet connectivity on-the-go, this is a minor disadvantage. This may well be the reason that the wireless internet service has not been able to completely outrun the wired connection market.

One of the major advantages of wireless internet is that they supposedly offer more reliability than the wired connections. The service provider gains because they do not have to incur any expenditure on cables or for any satellite transmission. On the other hand, there are some concerns regarding the effect of the radiation on the health of the users. It is said that wireless internet emits three times the radiation emitted by a mobile phone. So, it is deemed to be a health hazard though such studies are not yet confirmed. The other advantage is the compatibility of various devices which can use a Wi-Fi connection. People who have a cell phone or PDA equipped with a web browser can easily connect to the internet wherever the Wi-Fi services are offered.

Since cell phones are now fully equipped to make the lives of their users easier, they can do almost anything that a personal computer can. Operating systems are now available in the cell phones making them equally capable for communication and computing needs. In effect, what the wireless internet promises to do in the near future is offering us 24x7 connectivity without any of the usual hassles. If you list the breakthrough developments in the field of science and technology, I think wireless internet can be termed as one of them. Considering the convenience and simplicity it offers, it will play a major role in redefining the way we live our lives on this planet.

Now there are claims of an even better solution for seamless connectivity and it is called cellular internet. Earlier cellular internet was not fast enough to really be called as a viable option. But now with ever advancing technology, cellular internet has grown by leaps and bounds. It has the potential to give the wired internet connection services a run for its money. So, is wireless internet really better than your wired internet connection? Yes, it certainly seems so.


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