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ANADIGICS is leading the way in delivering dualband multimode wireless LAN solutions. In doing so, the company will set new standards for WLAN interoperability.
Avoiding Standards Confusion
Since the 802.11b standard for wireless LAN was finalized in 1999 there has been explosive growth in the adoption of wireless LAN technology. Products compliant with 802.11b operate within the 2.4 GHz ISM band at data delivery rates of up to 11 Mbps. Now, with the evolution of silicon technology, we are starting to see the emergence 802.11a solutions that operate in the unlicensed 5 GHz bands and can deliver data rates of 54 Mbps and beyond. This means that users and network managers are faced with a choice. Unfortunately, the choice is not always clear or easy and the result is often confusion.
Which to deploy?
There are a number of factors that could influence the choice of standard to deploy.
Existing Investment and Migration
The rate of adoption and rollout of 802.11b networks is already considerable; having taking advantage of reduced prices as the technology matures. The number of users and available access points is already significant and maintaining on going compatibility will be important.
Throughput
Networks compliant with 802.11b support a maximum throughput of 11Mbps that is shared across all users. With a low number of simultaneous users this may well be adequate for many of today's applications. But with up to 54 Mbps offered by 802.11a, networks can also support streaming video or other such demanding applications. This makes it ideal not only for supporting future data rich media networks, but also for supporting a larger number of simultaneous users.
Effective Range
There could be a noticeable difference between the operating ranges of 802.11b networks at 2.4GHz and 802.11a at 5 GHz. This derives from three aspects. First, radio propagation varies as a function of frequency. Second, since data rates are so much higher in 802.11a the energy required to resolve the data is greater and third, the physical properties of the network environment significantly impact range. Taken together, the effective coverage area for an 802.11a network will likely be smaller than that for 802.11b.
While 802.11b enables increased coverage from a single access point, it has the down side that the 11 Mbps service is potentially shared by a greater number of users. Simply adding more access points isn't necessarily a solution to deliver more bandwidth to the user, because this causes potential interference problems as a result of overlapping coverage and the limited spectrum availability at 2.4 GHz. The 802.11a has a smaller footprint, but can deliver a much higher bandwidth service to users in the coverage area. Adding additional access points does not create the interference issues experienced with 802.11b because the effective range is not as great and the number of available channels is greater in the 5 GHz band.
IEEE802.11a standard will provide enhanced levels of service in areas of high user density, while 802.11b may still be an appropriate choice where lower user density and higher geographic coverage is required.
Importance of Dual Mode
Just as cell phones operate seamlessly across various standards, ANADIGICS believes that 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz networks are complimentary and will coexist for a long time. With the rapid adoption today of WiFi 802.11b networks both users and operators require a migration path to 802.11a. Having to chose between 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz is not appropriate. By delivering a cost effective dual mode solution ANADIGICS is enabling the adoption of 5 GHz as an adjunct or migration path to existing or new 2.4 GHz networks. Network managers can comfortably choose to deploy an appropriate mix of 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz coverage throughout the coverage area as the user profile dictates. The user will then be able to seamlessly roam throughout the coverage area independent of the prevailing service, while accessing high data rate services where available.
For further information about how ANADIGICS could work with you to enable innovative next generation wireless networking systems, please contact us directly at +1 (908) 668-5000
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