Wired or wireless network for the new office ?
There is no straightforward answer for this question and answers may vary for each one, purely based on previous experience, expertise, type of application in use, type of device in use, financial budgets etc.
For the last 20-30 years we were using wired Ethernet connection for data communication between computer terminals. The data sharing requirements were limited or the network itself was very small. But for the last 15-20 years the number of terminals exponentially increased across the globe. Very recently for last 10 years, mobility has become the main concern for all our computing needs. You want to be connected 24×7 to the network.
If mobility is the main concern then Wireless network is the only option. Wired connectivity is only for fixed devices like desktops. The wired or wireless question gets easily resolved here.
But will wired & wireless network give same user experience? Again Yes. No. May be ????. It all depends on how you handle them. Wired network, once fixed, is fixed. 10 or 100 or 1000 Mbps or even 10 Gbps, you may face very little connectivity trouble. But wireless (WLAN) is completely different ball game. You can’t simply switch ON wireless and assume everything will work as mentioned on wireless specification sheet
Understanding wireless is all about how much you understand your high school physics. If you could revisit it, you may compare wireless with light propagation, sound propagation, temperature propagation, wave propagation, etc., in an air medium. Many obstacles, many boundaries, many blocks, different intensity level, distance, etc., play a major role in propagation. Wireless communication is all about electromagnetic wave propagation; and it can be blocked, attenuated, interfered, diverged, phase shifted and deteriorated.
This is where wireless engineers come into the picture. They can effectively visualize the environment through various professional tools and make sure your entire wireless spectrum is effectively handled. Your access point (AP) and client machine (Laptop, smartphone, etc.,) wireless radio chipsets are designed to handle this unreliable air medium effectively. Initially wireless technologies supported data rates of 1 Mbps and now, up to 20 Gbps. As like in wired medium, wireless data rates are of not fixed value as per data sheets. The AP / client will keep changing the value depending up on the available air space (spectrum) & other parameters.
According to your specific application requirement, you may have to choose your own laptop/ computing device wireless card and access points with right technology that supports your usage. Wireless will be your best friend if it is correctly handled. But if you are unsure whether to go for wired or wireless network option for your office, get in touch with your local wireless device supplier or contact us.