--- Wireless networking ---

 

Sample Question:

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JSR Notes:

 

The Ever-presence of Wireless Communication

Wireless communication is simply the transfer of data between two points that are not connected by a physical wire.

The most common wireless technologies use radio waves. The range of distances radio waves travel goes from very short, such as a few meters for television, to very long indeed, such as the millions of kilometers traveled in deep-space radio communications.

Examples of applications of radio wireless technology include GPS, garage door openers, wireless computer peripherals, such as mice, keyboards and headsets, satellite television, broadcast television, cordless telephones, two-way radios, and radio receivers themselves. The two applications of wireless communication we are most interested in are cellular telephones, and the wireless networking of laptops and PCs.

 

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There are two ways this assessment statement can be taken, and we should consider both: 1. advantages and disadvantages of wireless networks in comparison to wired networks, and 2. related to the social and environmental (S/E) point in the teaching note.

 

Approach to this assessment statement #1:

Wireless Advantages & Disadvantages (as compared to Wired networks)

 

Advantages of Wireless Networks:

• Mobility & Roaming
• With a laptop computer or mobile device, access can be available throughout a school, at the mall, on an airplane, etc. More and more businesses are offer free WiFi access ("Hot spots").
• Roaming allows extended mobility (compare this to the geographically limited nature of wired networks, which limits you to the ISP you have a contract with)
• People can switch from router to router automatically, depending on which connection is best
  And there are global standards (e.g. 802.11n)

 

• Ease of Setup & Expandability
• If your computer has a wireless adapter, locating a wireless network can be as simple as clicking "Connect to a Network" -- in some cases, you will connect automatically to networks within range.
• Simple to set up a small wireless network
  No space or time needed to lay cables, like is needed for wired networks.

• Adding new computers to a wireless network is as easy as turning the computer on (as long as you do not exceed the maximum number of devices).

 

• Low Cost
• Setting up a wireless network can be much more cost effective than buying and installing cables.
• A simple wireless network is cheap (with lots of competition among sellers)
  - this is partly because of the use of the free unlicensed radio spectrum
  - and no extensive cabling is required

- so for wireless, it all boils down to convenience

 

Disadvantages of Wireless Networks:

• Low Speed of Transmission
• Speeds are increasing all the time, but still those speeds do not rival wired alternatives very often. (The Bangkok average is 25 Mbps Nov. 2020 - see NomadList.com.)
  
• (Wired networks, by comparison, can be very fast, depending on cabling, particularly with use of Gigabit Ethernet or fiber optic cables.)

 

• Reliability/Interference Problem
• Interference and loss of signal is an issue
• Electromagnetic interference can come from other electronic devices or lights, for example .
• The 2.4 GHz spectrum is often crowded with other devices.
• Lost connections can result from all of this, or just from things like large objects blocking the transmission of the signal.
• (Wired networks, by comparison, are very stable, with little interference.)

 

• Security Issues
• Security is improving all the time, but it is still an issue.
• Hacking of wireless networks is much easier than that of wired networks - no physical tapping required.
• Access points can be directly targeted to steal data.
• So vigilance is needed via strong passwords, and strong encryption choices. (More on this later.)
• (Wired networks are much more secure.)
  
  

- and so for wired networks, it all boils down to reliability

 

 

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Approach to this assessment statement # 2:

Social & Economic Effects

And so this is the social and economic effects of wireless networks as they relate to the S/E Teaching Note above: "S/E wireless networks have led to changes in working patterns, social activities and raised health issues."

With this, yes, you will be talking about the general concept of us being hooked to our computers too much now-a-days, but make sure to focus on social and economic effects of wireless networks in this wider problem.

A. Changes in Working Patterns:

Advantages of Wireless Communication for work:

• Work in transit possible on public transport on the way to and from work etc.
• In fact, can work any time, anywhere, for example, on a spur-of-the-moment idea
• Cost savings & convenience for the office;
  • don't need as many wired ports
  • and as many people as needed to can connect at one time

Disadvantages of Wireless Communication for work:

• Slower access, often, compared to the wired network in the office
• Periodic inaccessibility, with WiFi dead spots, or non-public access
• Distraction working at home can be an issue, which leads to inefficiencies
• Overall slowing of the Internet, with people working from home

 

B. Changes in Social Activities:

Social Advantages of Wireless Communication

• Immediate communication with friends and families easier with wireless
  • "Staying in touch" more, and making more "acquaintances"
  • Expats in particular can communicate better with relatives
• Developing countries can "leapfrog"; it's cheaper to get networks up and running
• Simple to use for all ages and tech. levels (for example 4g, where your phone just works; no need to set up a LAN or a modem)

Social Disadvantages of Wireless Communication:

• Less real, face-to-face interaction
  • A lot of the above advantages could be seen as disadvantages since it's not real, live, fact-to-face interactions

 

C. Health Issues:

Health Advantages of Wireless Communication:

• Response to emergency situations
  • Communicating with medical professionals from site of illness/accident.
  • Streaming medical information to doctors from site of illness/accident.
  • Access to crucial information in emergency situations, provided by services like I-SOS, which our school uses.
    
    
• Access to health information
  • By the public: Looking up medical information anywhere any time - in particular people who previously did not have access to medical information, such as in developing regions/countries. The point being that wireless access is much more easy and readily available than wired access.
  • By health professionals: Doctors on call, and emergency personnel such as ambulance paramedics can use services such as Epocrates, for concise, professional, mobile information.
  
  
• Mobile Apps for healthy living
  • keeping track of how much you walk in a day
  • monitoring and suggesting changes to your sleep pattern
  • monitoring the food you eat
    • all of these more useful because they are mobile
• Ergonomic benefits
  • Being able to work in many different, non-static positions (on the couch, at the kitchen table, in your office) can bring great ergonomic benefits by not having you repeat certain movements exactly the same way too much, or hold certain positions for overly long periods of time exactly the same way.

Health Disadvantages of Wireless Communication:

• "Phone zombies"
  • Physical health issues related to people being more sedentary because (for example) they can communicate with others through Internet anywhere.
    
    
• Possible health affects to our brains
  • The possibility of as yet undiscovered health risks from all the transmissions going through our brains etc.
    
    
• Information overload
  • From a mental health perspective, information overload, since we can never get away from immediate access to information, and "Facebook-syndrome" depression etc. We don't need to be seated at a wired computer, we can access these things anywhere, anytime.

 

With this assessment statement, you should be ready to outline advantages and disadvantages of wireless networks in a certain context/situation.