New Wi-Fi chips from Intel

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Phantasm66

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Intel will introduce a tri-mode Wi-Fi chip that supports 802.11b, 802.11g and the lesser used 802.11a in a move that should help to reduce network traffic jams.

Wireless networks have popped up in homes, businesses and public places, and all sorts of other locations in recent times, leading to concerns about traffic jams. 802.11a can accommodate more network traffic at similar or greater speeds without interfering with microwaves and cordless phones, however it is very unpopular. Intel's move way well help to change that and properly exploit this technology to help deal with performance problems.
 
They seem to fail to mention that the speed and lack of interference are the ONLY advantages of the a standard. The max range of a is around 200ft(and only if you are very lucky) This might be seen as an advantage in a small secure environment, but I think I could look around to see if anyone was trying to bypass encryption from 200ft away. The b and g standards both have a max range of around 500 meters and the g standard has speeds of 54mbps which matches a, this pretty much means that a's only real advantage is that it isn't affected by the hundreds of devices that operate in the 2.5GHz freq.
Another big disadvantage of a is that it costs a good bit more than a and g. This cost is amplified if you want to expand the network by adding more APs to cover the same area with a as for b and g.
 
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