The wireless network standard 802.11, which has gained a lot of
attention, was published by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1999. Several variations of the standard have been published since, of which the best known is IEEE 802.11b, better known to the public as Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity). The 802.11b standard uses the unlicensed Industrial, Science and Medical (ISM) band. In the absence of licensing barriers, and because of the simplicity of the technology and its cost effectiveness, Wi-Fi networks have developed rapidly in both industrialized and developing countries. Indoor coverage of 50 to 100 meters is normal and depending on the standard, bit rates of 11 to 54 Mbps (in some proprietary versions even more) are possible. It is, however, important to mention that the net data capacity is far below these figures, as depicted in the following figure:
Actual capacities in Wi-Fi, IEEE802.11b (Source: Measurements carried out by Lars Staalhagen, one of the researchers at COM center, Technical University of Denmark.)
Furthermore, the capacity in a WLAN is shared and the available capacity per user depends on the number of users connected to an access point. Wi-Fi coverage can be extended using outdoor antennas, and point to point connections can also be established using Wi-Fi.