Merits of wired versus wireless networks

[2004]

A basic familiarity with networking terms is helpful for this article; this article at PC World provides a brief non-technical overview.

This simple page on the Linksys site does a good job of succinctly pointing out the core difference between wired and wireless networks:

“Wireless networks . . . don’t require cables, [so] you can use the devices anywhere in an office or home, even out on the patio. . . Outside of the home, wireless networking is available in hotspots at coffee shops, businesses, airports — great when you’re on the road and need to get some work done. For convenience, wireless networking is the answer.

Wired networks have been around for years. They use the most affordable products and provide the fastest speeds of transmission. . . When you need to move large amounts of data at high speeds, such as professional-quality multimedia, wired networking is the most efficient way to do it.”

This page and this one on Intel’s site provide a reasonable (if a bit self-serving) explanation.

This interesting article on Design Share on wiring schools is well explained.

At this point in time, all of the wireless solutions we consider are of a type known as Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi Alliance (“A nonprofit international association formed in 1999 to certify interoperability of wireless Local Area Network products based on IEEE 802.11 specification”) is the organization that overseas the certification of devices by different vendors as interoperable.