That means at least in theory that a Wi-Fi branded Aceess Point made by Linksys should work with a Wi-Fi branded wireless network card manufactured by Belkin.
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The Wi-Fi Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the world-wide adoption of a uniform standard for high-speed wireless networks. You can find out more about the Alliance by clicking the following link:
http://www.wi-fi.org/index.php |
The technologies representing the 802 standards listed above also must interoperate with other IEEE 802 standards such as 802.3 which governs the operation of Ethernet (LAN) networks.
The Land of WLAN
As you've just learned, WLAN standards fall under the family of 802.11 specifications. Both 802.11b and g operate in the 2.4 GHz band which is unregulated by the FCC. This means you don't need a license to set up and use a wireless LAN. 802.11a is also considered a Wi-Fi implementation however; it operates in the 5 GHz radio band and is considered incompatible with either 802.11b or g (although it is also unregulated by the FCC).
| The 2.4 GHz spectrum which is used by both 802.11 b and g, actually represents a range of frequencies from 2.4 to 2.4835 GHz. 802.11a equipment operates at frequencies between 5.15 to 5.25 GHz band at 50 mW, 5.25 to 5.35 GHz at 250 mW, and 5.725 to 5.825 at 1 Watt. |
It is relatively rare to come across 802.11a equipment at most retail stores because this standard isn't compatible with other types of WLAN equipment. 802.11a is found widely used in ATM or Asynchronous Transfer Mode technology which is a dedicated-connection switching solution used in WANs. You will commonly find home and business WLANs using 802.11b, g, or a mix of the two.
802.11b wireless networks were the first to become available. The standard was ratified by the IEEE in 1999 (802.11a was ratified shortly afterwards) and 802.11b wireless equipment started to become available. As the pricing came down, this technology was widely adopted and it became the platform for WLAN networks. Running at a speed of 11 Mbps, it was slow compared to Ethernet networks which traditionally run at 100 Mbps, but the trade off was that you could live without wires. In 2003, 802.11g standard wireless hardware became available and provided wireless networking at a maximum rate of 54 Mbps, blowing the b standard out of the water.
Of course by then, most people and businesses using wireless had made a significant investment in b standard equipment and were unlikely to throw it away and completely replace it. Since both the b and g operate in the 2.4 GHz band, they can "talk to each other" so your new 802.11g Access Point would communicate with your laptop's older 802.11b network card.