What is wireless, and how does it work? Wireless can be described as the transfer of information between two or more physically disconnected points. Distances can be as short as a few meters in television remote control or long, ranging from thousands to millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications.
The cell phone is probably the best example of wireless technology. The world’s first wireless telephone conversation happened in 1880 when Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter invented and patented the photophone. This telephone conducted audio conversations wirelessly over controlled light beams (electromagnetic waves). Then, in 1915, American Telephone and Telegraph thought about creating a wireless phone; still, we were afraid that this great technology would undermine its monopoly on wired services in the United States. They were right. Over 85 years later, this extraordinary little unwired device has revolutionized the telephone industry and put wired phone carriers out of business by offering free long distances, free nights and weekends, free sign-up offers, and the convenience of having a mobile phone virtually anywhere on the go.
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Common wireless devices include garage door openers, cordless phones, two-way radios, satellite television, satellite Internet, GPS, and Wi-Fi.
As the personal computer became popular in the early 1970s, the idea of a portable personal computer came about. In 1981, Adam Osborne produced the first personal portable computer (now called a laptop), Osborne 1. It weighed 24 lbs, had a 5-inch screen, and cost $1795 ($4,552 today). The demand for the laptop skyrocketed. Consumers desired portability. When the Internet boom hit in 1990, the idea of connecting to the Internet with a portable laptop without a wire came about; unlike the hard-lined personal desktop computer, Internet connection would be wireless and require a faster connection. In 1999, the Wi-Fi Alliance created the word Wi-Fi and its yin-yang logo as a catchier term for IEEE 802.11. Today, over 700 million people use Wi-Fi worldwide and over 4 million hotspots (places with Wi-Fi Internet connectivity).
How does it work? If you’ve been in an airport, coffee shop, library, or hotel recently, chances are you’ve been in the middle of a wireless network. A wireless network uses radio waves like cell phones, televisions, and radios. Communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication.
Here’s what happens:
- Your laptop computer translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an internal antenna.
- A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a wired Ethernet connection.
Do you remember riding a bicycle with no hands for the first time? “Look, Mom! No hands!” Ahhh..free as a bird. Good old days, right? Computer users can relate to that same experience when using wireless for the first time and every time. Sitting at that same “glued” position at that same home desktop computer at that same spot only to get up to find your spine in a gridlock. Did you know sitting is the worst possible position for your back and applies the most stress on your spine? No more back pain and inflammation flaring up by having to remain in that fixed position in that same old 3-legged hard little wooden chair that has lived up to way more than its life expectancy. Moving from one place to another without worrying about tripping over wires is made easy. Get comfy, lay on the couch, and watch TV while fiddling on the Internet with your laptop, browsing news headlines, or checking email.
Wireless or Wi-Fi enables the Internet user to roam freely anywhere in their house, business, or other wireless network (up to 150 feet indoors and 300 feet outdoors) with one or multiple computers.
People who live in urban centralized areas benefit from readily available wireless high-speed Internet options and hotspots virtually everywhere. Wireless Internet providers are not as prevalent in rural areas, and options for rural Internet are scarce. People in rural areas, areas out in the country, or in areas just past the “cut-off” of conventional high-speed Internet service enjoy the same high-speed wireless Internet benefits such as connecting wirelessly in the family room, the kitchen, the bedroom, the porch, or connecting with more than one computer. The increased demand for rural Internet has started to make it more attractive for rural broadband Internet providers to service these remote areas of the country. Rural areas where cable and DSL Internet are limited or unavailable can access high-speed rural broadband Internet service through satellite Internet. HughesNet and Wild Blue, North America’s two largest satellite Internet providers, provide rural Internet without restrictions and limited hard-lined cable or DSL availability. They provide the solution for high-speed rural wireless satellite Internet service in rural areas.
This demand for high-speed rural wireless Internet, along with competitors fighting for the next rural customer, has driven monthly prices down to an affordable level, and free equipment and installation are now becoming the norm. This has been a relief for consumers on a fixed income or who can only afford service if the price is under a certain level, which they can afford every month.
A recent rural Internet survey states that only 24 percent of rural residents have Internet access at home. This small number is a result of many factors. Still, one of the major reasons is that many cable and DSL Internet service providers do not provide rural broadband Internet services.
Of course, many people living in rural areas access the Internet through dial-up phone lines – sometimes a frustrating and slow experience. A dial-up Internet connection can take almost a minute (sometimes longer) for a Web page to load on the screen. A slow dial-up connection can sometimes prevent access to images and documents. Also, dial-up as a rural Internet provider can tie up phone lines and is not fast enough for a wireless connection.
There is a solution for rural Internet—satellite Internet. Wireless rural broadband Internet is possible through higher-speed satellite Internet. With rural wireless high-speed satellite Internet, slow or no Internet access is a thing of the past. No matter where you live in the contiguous United States, you can have wireless high-speed Internet access like you’ve never had before. And you’ll finally be able to surf the Internet without tying up your phone lines and connect wirelessly at high speed with rural wireless Internet.
What does wireless broadband mean? Put, wireless broadband means high-speed wireless Internet access. To understand it more specifically, you have to think about transmission or the amount of time it takes to send messages from your computer to another computer words; how long does it take to download information from a Website?
A dial-up Internet connection transfers data at up to 56 kilobits per second (56K). Average dial-up Internet users typically connect around 20 to 30 kilobits per second (20-30K) or sometimes even slower. This is a slow data transfer rate. A wireless broadband satellite Internet connection provides a data transfer rate of 50-100 times that much.
With download speeds from 1000 kilobits per second to 5000 kilobits per second, a high-speed wireless rural satellite Internet connection provides faster download times of images and documents and the capability of viewing more online information simultaneously without frustration or interruptions in service. And rural broadband Internet through satellite is only going to get faster. In January 2012, HughesNet, the largest provider of rural high-speed satellite Internet service in North America, will be launching a new satellite named “Jupiter,” which will be capable of reaching speeds of over 100 gigabytes per second to fuel further HughesNet’s rapidly growing high demand for high-speed rural Internet.
With this high rate of data transmission, rural broadband satellite Internet users can reach higher connection speeds and are capable of having a wireless connection. Receiving information and posting information online are all done at higher speeds. Download photos, email, bank and shop online, research, web browse, even go to school online, or own and operate a home-based business. This can be done with increased Internet speeds and a rural wireless satellite Internet connection as your rural Internet provider.
Businesses and consumers benefit from high-speed rural satellite Internet as their rural broadband Internet provider because it has a proven track record of reliability. High-speed, high-speedless satellite Internet provides an ‘always on’ Internet connection, meaning you never have to wait for your modem to dial into the IInternet. No phone line is required, so there is no hassle in logging off, waiting for a phone call, or making a phone call.
When you order rural wireless high-speed satellite Internet for your rural Internet access, a certified installer will come to your home and install the Internet service. Installation includes installing a satellite dish outside your home in a south-facing direction and connecting your computer to a satellite modem. This will give you broadband satellite Internet access. The technician must show you how to connect to the Internet and confirm your signal and connection speed.