Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs Forum

Scott, I am having trouble understanding the third and fourth paragraphs on page 799 of the 20th edition of "Upgrading and Repairing PCs". I don't understand the question, "why not skip 802.11b altogether"? Also, in the same paragraph, I'm not sure, but I think you are saying that the Wireless-A devices are good because they avoid interfering with the with the 2.4GHz frequency devices. If that is what you are saying, what does that have to do with skipping 802.11b devices altogether.

Also, looking down below at the fourth paragraph, "Dual-band hardware can work with either 802.11a or 802.11b/g networks, enabling you to move from an 802.11b/g wireless network at home or at Starbucks to a faster 802.11a office network." So are you saying that Wireless-A is faster than Wireless-G? Is a Wireless-A device faster for a given distance than Wireless-G, like it is for Wireless-B?

It was posed as a rhetorical question in that if 802.11a was superior to 802.11b, why even make a dual-band device, that is why not just have a single band 802.11a device and "skip 802.11b altogether". The answer is of course given in the remainder of the paragraph, which basically states that hotspots and such pretty much exclusively use the 2.4GHz band, which excludes 802.11a.


Yes. While 802.11a and 802.11g are technically rated for the same speed, since 802.11a has more channels and little if any interference from other devices, in general the speeds will be higher. That is why 802.11a became popular in the corporate environment, while never catching on for the general public. Scott.

And I assume that the reason Wireless-B and G are popular at libraries and hotspots, is because they have a greater maximum range.

Thanks.

Better range, maximum backwards compatibility, and minimum expense. Scott.