Wireless Internet Tips

Wireless Internet Sharing
If you plan on sharing your wireless internet access, you will need to have that option turned on in your settings. However, if you do not have other computers hooked up to the network at this time, for security purposes, you should leave the setting turned off until the need arises to share the wireless internet access.

Wireless Internet Speeds
Coming in at the slowest is Bluetooth, followed by 802.11b, 802.11a and topping the charts currently is 802.11g. 802.11b is roughly equivalent to the traditional wired 10BaseT Wired Ethernet networks. Therefore, switching to Wi-Fi should not considerably slow down your wireless internet connection.

Wireless Network Equipment While Traveling
You will need to have a wireless network card, either an adapter or integrated in your laptop. If you do not have an available slot on your PC, there are adapters you can purchase that plug into a USB port on the computer. That’s all you need for equipment!

Finding a Wireless Internet Hot Spot
There are several stores and restaurants that offer wireless internet access, such as Starbucks. If you have a particular destination in mind, you can call the hotels to see if they offer the service. There are also hot spot directories that you can search to find wireless internet access.

Wireless internet - WiFi Standards
802.11 is the Wi-Fi standard, however there are other standards which are variations of the 802.11. These include:

802.11a
802.11b
802.11g
802.11i.
The differences among these standards includes speed, transmission frequency, and price. 802.11g is backwards compatible with previous products, but that is not the case with 802.11a. Make sure you check on compatibility issues prior to purchasing products.

Wireless Internet and Dial up
It is possible to share a wireless internet connection with dial up, but it’s not a very good idea. Some access points, such as the airport extreme base station from Apple, will allow this. However, there is some slow down time with sharing a wireless internet connection, and if you decide to share a dial up connection, you won’t be surfing anything fast.

Finding a Wireless Internet Hot Spot in a Chain
If you are traveling and know that you will be stopping at Starbucks, for example, and want to access the internet, you can check out their website to see what specific franchises offer wireless internet access. Many places offer a free one time pass so you can ‘test drive’ the wireless internet access that they offer.

Paying for Wireless Internet Access
Most likely, you will need to pay for the high speed wireless internet access when you travel. Starbucks for example uses T-mobile as their wireless internet provider. You will need to have a t-mobile account in order to access wi-fi at Starbucks. There are some restaurants that may advertise free Wi-Fi, but in general, you should expect to pay a fee.

Nationwide Wireless Internet Service
There are a plethora of national wireless high speed internet services available. AT&T, Sprint PCS, T-mobile, and Verizon are a few which offer nationwide service. You will want to check out various pricing, roaming policies and fees for the various networks.

Mixing Apples and PC's to Share Wireless Internet Connection
You can mix apple and PC’s on a wireless network and share a wireless internet access. For example, Apple makes an access point called the AirPort Extreme Base station. Even though it is made by Apple, it still uses the Wi-Fi standard, and PC computers with a wireless adapter on the network will be able to share the wireless internet connection

Mixing Wireless Internet and Wired Internet
You can easily share a wireless internet access while still maintaining a wired network. There are many wireless routers on the market which offer both wired and wireless network capabilities. It is also possible to add on an access point after a wired router for wireless access.

Configuring Wireless Access Point to Share Wireless Internet Connection
Once you install the drivers on your computer for the access point, you will be able to open up the configuration software that comes with the router. The IP address 192.168.0.0 is the lowest in the network and should be dedicated to the router. Make sure to follow the specific configuration instructions that come with your wireless router, as each product will be slightly different from one another.

Wireless Internet Equipment
The beauty of the WI-FI is that it set a standard for wireless networking. Because of this, you do not need to have equipment from all the same venders in order to run a successful wireless network. You will be able to share wireless internet access as well without having equipment from all the same venders.

Configuring Wireless Internet Card
You will need to use the configuration software that comes with your network card to configure your computer to work at various hot spots. Simply type in the hotspot network name (various depending on the service you are using) and state the type of network, such as access point. You can also scan available wireless broadband internet access in the area and choose which network you wish to connect with.

Wireless Internet – WIFI
WI-FI, the 802.11 standard, is important for a variety of reasons. Having a standard in the industry ensures that anyone using wi-fi will be using the same standard, therefore equipment and connections are interchangeable. Having a set standard makes setting up wireless networks, sharing wireless internet access and working with wireless equipment more users friendly.