Choose the right wireless network standard

Here's what you need to know about wireless networking, from the standards and technologies to the best products for your home or office.

Settling on a standard is one of the most important decisions you'll make while putting together your network. The standard you choose influences everything, including the speed, the features, the reach, and the cost of your network. Making sense out of the alphabet soup of wireless technologies can be daunting, but here's a quick guide to what you need to know.

Networking standards: 802.11n | 802.11g | HomePlug | Bluetooth | Ethernet | 802.11b | 802.11a

Network standards at a glance

Networking standards	Actual speed	Range	Frequency and interference risk	Hot-spot access	Power drain	Cost
802.11n Learn more	200Mbps	250 feet or more	2.4GHz; 5GHz; moderate	Unavailable	TBD	High
802.11b Learn more	5Mbps	150 feet	2.4GHz; high	Excellent	Moderate	Low
802.11a Learn more	22Mbps	100 feet	5GHz: low	Poor	High	High
802.11g Learn more	20Mbps	150 feet	2.4GHz; high	Excellent	Moderate	Moderate
Bluetooth Learn more	700Kbps	30 feet	2.4GHz; high	Poor	Low	Moderate

802.11n: The standard that's not here yet

The yet-to-be finalized 802.11n standard is based on MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) technology, which takes advantage of multiple data streams. This concept was considered a problem until someone figured out how to harness these many streams of data to improve both throughput and range. Draft 2 of the 802.11n standard has been approved and the Wi-Fi Alliance is currently working on Draft 2.0 certifications. Most of the major networking vendors offer routers and adapters based on Draft 2.0 of the spec, which requires interoperability among vendors, adherence to the latest security schemes, and backward compatibility with previous generations of Wi-Fi equipment (802.11b and 802.11g, for example). Final ratification of the standard is now projected for early to mid-2008.

Despite the ongoing certification process, 802.11n-class hardware is still readily available for purchase, and you should feel confident doing so. These products are more expensive than 802.11g hardware, although prices have come down to the point where you can find an 802.11n router for under $100. Our testing has shown that while 802.11n is indeed faster than older wireless standards, it's still not quite as fast as its rated speed of 200 Mbps. Its performance also drops if you have non-802.11n devices on your network, as well. Our general advice is that you probably don't need 802.11n for basic wireless networking around an average-size home with one or two client devices. If you have many connected systems, intend to stream HD video with other concurrent network activity, or if you need to provide wireless access over a wide area, then you might need the bandwidth and reach that draft 802.11n has to offer.

802.11n facts
• Better range, throughput, and speed than 802.11g products
• Backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g products
• Greater resistance to interference.

802.11g

The 802.11g standard is currently the most popular Wi-Fi standard, although 802.11n is gaining ground, thanks to dropping prices. 802.11g is the successor to 802.11b, but it is backward-compatible with 802.11b as well. The two standards operate at the same frequency (2.4GHz). With a throughput of about 22Mbps, 802.11g delivers four times the throughput of 802.11b. 802.11g has been the de facto home network standard for a few years. As it's been widely adopted, the price of 802.11g products has fallen significantly, making it a cost-effective choice. The only downside to 802.11g is the fact that it uses the 2.4GHz wireless band, a crowded slice of the spectrum with room for only three nonoverlapping channels. This will make 5.0GHz hardware, such as 802.11a or 802.11n. a better choice for some environments, especially those populated with devices that share the 2.4GHz spectrum, such as cordless phones, baby monitors, microwave ovens, and Bluetooth radios.

802.11g facts
• Better range than that of 802.11a products
• Much faster than 802.11b products
• Low cost
• Subject to interference from other 2.4GHz devices
• Only three nonoverlapping channels

HomePlug

Power-line gear may be the best-kept secret in home networking. Though overshadowed by Wi-Fi, power-line networking (also known by the Powerline Alliance's name of HomePlug) is a good solution either as an alternative to wireless or as a way to extend a wireless network to the far reaches of a home. Power-line devices use your home's electrical wiring to connect a digital network. The two HomePlug standards are 1.0 and AV. HomePlug AV is the more recent of the two and addresses quality of service issues that are important for transmitting high-def video content. HomePlug adapters are fast enough for streaming audio-video content and online gaming, not to mention e-mail and Web surfing; we recently clocked several vendors' offerings at over 30Mbps. The power-line solution is also a great way of connecting wireless access points in a large house or building. Keep in mind that this solution isn't cheap: each adapter costs roughly $100, and you'll need at least 2 to start.

HomePlug facts
• Practical throughput speeds of about 14Mbps or faster
• Moderately expensive
• Great for environments with 2.4GHz or 5GHz cordless phones
• Guaranteed interoperability between HomePlug devices that are based on the same specification

Bluetooth

Bluetooth offers more flexibility than Wi-Fi but on a smaller scale. Its throughput is a pokey 700Kbps, and its range is just a couple of dozen feet, but devices with a Bluetooth radio and an antenna can speak to each other with little or no preparation. Meeting attendees can immediately transfer files across a conference table using their Bluetooth-equipped notebooks, or they can send a file to a Bluetooth-equipped printer without downloading drivers. Bluetooth is fast becoming standard equipment on many cell phones, laptops, and other devices. There's even talk of putting Bluetooth into home appliances. But for all the theoretical benefits of Bluetooth, the reality is that it's currently a mess of incompatible hardware and software. Because Bluetooth operates at 2.4GHz, it is subject to the same interference problems as 802.11b and 802.11g.

Bluetooth facts
• Not compatible with 802.11 standards
• Slow throughput at around 700Kbps
• Short range of about 30 feet
• Interferes with other 2.4GHz devices
• Low power requirements

Ethernet

Nothing tops Ethernet for speed and reliability, and Ethernet also has the advantage of being a lot cheaper to deploy than power line or any flavor of wireless. Most computers already have Ethernet adapters built in, but unfortunately, most homes do not. Still, if you are after high bandwidth, it's worth considering pulling Ethernet cable through your home. Even if you decide not to cable your home for Ethernet, you might find that an Ethernet hub or switch is a good complement to your wireless network. In fact, many wireless routers come with a four-port Ethernet switch built in.

Ethernet facts
• Practical throughput around 90Mbps
• Inexpensive
• Requires cabling
• Range of about 300 feet per segment
• Widespread networking standard
• Ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications

Older standards

Standalone 802.11a and 802.11b hardware has dwindled over past years; in fact, it can be hard to find in brick-and-mortar stores, which stock mostly 802.11g and 802.11n devices. Because the newer wireless standards have become so affordable and have superior performance, we wouldn't recommend that you buy any new 802.11b or 802.11a hardware anymore, presuming you can even find any. Still, if you have any legacy wireless hardware lying around, it's worthwhile to know something about it.

802.11b

802.11b gear operates at 2.4GHz and offers a real-world throughput of around 5Mbps at close range. In a typical indoor environment, without a lot of metal, 802.11b equipment can generally maintain a solid connection up to about 150 feet. It is also fully compatible with the faster 802.11g standard. The weaknesses of 802.11b are its comparatively low throughput and the potential for interference with other gadgets that share the 2.4GHz band, such as cordless phones, security radios, and microwaves.

802.11b facts
• Better range than 802.11a products
• More than adequate throughput for broadband sharing at around 5Mbps
• Slower than 802.11a and 802.11g
• Broad compatibility
• Low cost
• Subject to interference from other 2.4GHz devices
• Only three nonoverlapping channels

802.11a

The 802.11a standard has a couple of advantages over the more prevalent 802.11g. It runs at a less populated frequency (5.15GHz to 5.35GHz), making it less prone to interference, and its practical throughput is about four times greater than that of 802.11b, typically clocking in at around 22Mbps. This gives it a lot more elbowroom than 802.11b for streaming digital audio and video or transferring large files over the network, with bandwidth left over for Internet sharing. Some manufacturers offer proprietary turbo modes that can push throughput even higher. 802.11a's downside is its shorter range. Because 802.11g and 802.11a operate at different frequencies, they can't talk directly to one another, which is why if you have an 802.11a adapter, you cannot connect to most hot spots. Another weakness is the increased power drain of the 5GHz radio, as compared to its 2.4GHz counterparts.

802.11a facts
• Great throughput at around 22Mbps or higher
• Operates at 5GHz
• Low risk of interference from other devices
• Eight nonoverlapping channels
• Higher cost than that of 802.11b and 802.11g

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