Individuals and businesses alike are leaning heavily on wireless technologies to maintain near-constant connectivity. There have been many innovations in this space over the past few years. We thought we’d take a look at some of the technology that you should know about in the wireless space.
Make no mistake about it, connectivity to the Internet is paramount for any business. A surefire way to gauge this importance is to observe people's reactions when they are informed that the Wi-Fi will be down for a few hours. In such a context, businesses face a crucial decision: should they opt for wired connections or embrace robust Wi-Fi? To make an informed choice, it's essential to understand the benefits associated with both options.
Wi-Fi depends on a couple of pieces of hardware and a couple of other factors. Firstly, ensure that your modem is connected correctly and that your router is connected securely to your modem. Nowadays, they are typically found in the same unit for home use. A key factor to setting up your router is that it has as few obstructions between devices as possible. Wi-Fi is just wireless radio waves, so ensuring it has a clear path will help the reliability of the signal that gets to your devices.
We like to talk about the major security problems that could come from using public Wi-Fi networks. Data security can be severely compromised by using some unsecured wireless connections. Then you have the issue of unpredictable (and often unreliable) network speeds and the need to routinely give over your personal information to sign in that can be plenty annoying. In the future, these considerations should dissipate as 5G technologies and new ways of sharing information begin to take hold.
There are three technologies looking to change wireless network access forever. They are Wi-Fi 6, 5G, and Hotspot 2.0.
5G just stands for the fifth generation of wireless technology. 5G, which started rolling out in 2019, is promising gigabit speeds to every user. For reference, gigabit speeds are approaching (and sometimes surpassing) the speeds delivered by fiber optic cable. By being able to broadcast wireless signals at those speeds will allow for an unprecedented level of innovation.
In fact, the capabilities are virtually endless with this type of networking speed. At the very least, it will highlight the capabilities of emerging technologies that require fast data speeds such as augmented reality and autonomous cars/trucks as viable technology for the very first time.
Wi-Fi 6 is the newest version of Wi-Fi. It is said to provide up to 40 percent higher available network speeds as compared to current Wi-Fi. For the vast majority of people, the data caps, data speed throttling, and overage charges are unfortunate realities when purchasing wireless platforms. Wi-Fi, therefore, is needed to bridge the gap to help us all avoid the major costs associated with wireless networking delivery. Wi-Fi 6, like Wi-Fi 5 before it, will be an essential part of doing business in the future.
So unfortunately 5G won’t eliminate the need for Wi-Fi. As a result, Wi-Fi hotspots will continue to be an important part of computing on the go. Hotspot 2.0, also referred to as Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint, removes a lot of the agita from using unsecured wireless networks by improving security and taking the actual connection out of the network deliverer’s hands. Essentially, when your phone comes in contact with a Hotspot 2.0 connection it will connect your phone automatically, using encryption to keep your data and the connection more secure.
Over the next few years you will begin to see public places switching over to Hotspot 2.0. It will become the standard for wireless hotspots, limiting the need for third-party software that often confronts users of today’s hotspots or hospitality visitors.
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There is one obvious benefit: No wires! Not having to run cable is a massive benefit, but the biggest benefit of this might just be the ability to connect devices to a wireless network inside your business. By giving your team access to network resources wirelessly, you’ll see better collaboration, improved productivity, and produce better products and services.
Additionally, with a strong wireless network, you can promote some strategies that can work to improve your operational effectiveness. One of those strategies is a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy. Many of your employees bring their smartphones with them when they come to work. By enacting a BYOD strategy, your staff can take advantage of the devices they are most used to advance the goals of the company.
Even many wireless technologies aren’t actually wireless. Even the ones that are, need to be charged regularly, so while expanding your wireless network will provide the ability to compute inside the network’s perimeter, setting up a more collaborative workspace still comes with some drawbacks. Namely speed and security.
Wireless connections are more vulnerable than wired ones. It’s easier for unauthorized individuals to hijack the signal of a wireless connection and can provide a third-party that is looking to gain access, more of it to the critical information that is transmitted wirelessly.
When dealing with wired networks, IT admins have more control over what devices can connect to the network. This presents values several ways. First, there is more control over the security protocols on those devices, making contracting malware and other negative outcomes less likely.
Wired connections also enhance an organization’s ability to keep their devices free from security threats. Controls have improved to the point where it is actually more difficult for attackers to break into a wired network.
Additionally, it may go without saying, but wired networks are overall faster than wireless networks. This speed boost is magnified if there are walls, floors, ceilings, or any other potential interference to seeing optimal speeds over Wi-Fi.
The biggest setback to a wired Internet network is the act of wiring the network. Initial setup is a pain, as you need to hide cables and find ways to run cable as to not hinder the thoroughfares around your business. It is also a hindrance for maintenance if a cable fails or hardware has to be moved around due to business growth or restructuring.
Another detriment to the business is that a wired connection doesn’t allow for the type of mobility many businesses are looking for nowadays. With a wireless connection meetings are faster, more to the point, and collaborative work can be fluid.
You have a business decision to make; and, while it may not be the most crucial one you will make, it can have an effect on how your business functions. For help networking your business, call the professionals at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.
The modern office functions a lot like the office of twenty years ago in terms of networking. Most of the time, endpoints connect to switches that connect to routers that connects to servers and the internet. This has been the way it has been for a couple of decades. Sure, the technology itself has been improved drastically, bandwidth dwarfs older connection speed, but all-in-all it is pretty similar to the way that office networking has been structured for some time.
One major change is the reliance on Wi-Fi. Wireless internet provides a more flexible work environment, giving staff a better ability to collaborate through the use of mobile devices such as laptops and smartphones. The integration of wireless connections necessitates the integration of security infrastructure and policies that work to keep unauthorized entities off of the business’ computing network.
You can count on one hand the inventions that have had the type of impact that the Internet has had on modern society. It’s no secret that there is a worldwide push for ubiquitous Internet access. This push will no-doubt be felt inside the offices of businesses big and small for years to come. There are new considerations coming to the forefront of networking technology. Some of which promise to change the way networking works. These include:
Wi-Fi 6, or 802.11ax, upgrades the current highest-speed Wi-Fi available, 802.11ac. It brings a substantial improvement in efficiency across all current Wi-Fi bands, including older frequencies, such as 2.4 GHz. The biggest improvement Wi-Fi 6 brings is it increases the density of devices that can co-exist in a single space, increasing the networking speed on all devices.
Additionally, Wi-Fi 6 will improve performance by supporting packet scheduling that will make for dramatic improvements in power utilization by mobile devices. This will improve the wireless experience for every user and will substantially improve the way the Internet of Things is leveraged in the workplace.
If you haven’t heard about 5G yet, you will. The fifth-generation wireless network is going to be a game changer. Wireless carriers are beginning to roll out 5G slowly and manufacturers have balked at going all-in on building 5G devices, but soon 5G will be the predominant wireless Internet platform and it will change everything.
5G will bring improved speed and battery life to smartphones and expand high-speed Internet for home users.
For the business, 5G will have less of an impact, but it will have one. 5G fixed access will be a useful option as a WAN connection for organizations that have multiple branches. Additionally, as 5G rolls out, it will present more opportunities for organizations to leverage the Internet of Things in new and useful ways.
In managing a modern network, administrators need powerful tools to be able to make everything play nice together. This type of coordination, especially as new wireless technologies take hold, needs to happen in real time. Businesses will start to use machine learning to learn more about all aspects of their network. In doing so they will be able to prioritize the efficiency of their networks.
Machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, will help push this along by optimizing network performance, enhance security, and do it at a reduced cost. It accomplishes this through strong pattern identification that will reduce the amount of time and effort spent by administrators on issues that aren’t critical in nature.
The immediate future will see gains in the way businesses and individuals are able to share, collaborate, and produce. If you are looking for some more information about innovative new networking technologies and how they can work to help your organization, call us today at (604) 513-9428.
To begin, we have to say that anyone that is talking about 5G as a selling point for any product or service in early 2019, you are looking at a marketing strategy. As the year goes on, however, we will be getting the first 5G networks and devices that can run on them. So, while it is true that some 5G wireless networks will be online in 2019, the lion’s share of networks will be using the same wireless platform that you’ve had for the past decade.
In December 2009, 4G wireless broadband networks went online for the first time, with the U.S. finally getting 4G LTE in June of 2010. Much like 5G will be for us, 4G was a revelation for mobile consumers of the time. At the time, 3G networks were doing 200 kilobits-to-five megabits per second and boosting to 4G’s 100 megabits-to-a-gigabit per second is a huge jump. It allowed for cloud computing and streaming media to be possible, and opened up a massive market for mobile applications, and devices that could handle these applications. The effect 4G had on society was massive.
Like the 4G networks before it, 5G networks will improve bandwidth speed, reduce latency, and provide a whole new layer of application support. It will effectively bring office Internet speeds to mobile devices. With speeds up to 100 gigabits per second, the 5G connection will be nearly 1,000 times faster than current 4G speeds. This will make any streaming communications seamless and give application developers a whole new construct to work in, improving mobile computing with each new innovation. To put this into perspective, with a solid 5G connection, you could, in theory, download a full movie in a few seconds
This gives people better network stability to ensure that business-critical mobile functions are reliable and has the speeds necessary to provide users the digital tools they need to be productive anywhere they are. The problem many organizations (and individuals) will have is that with this amazing upgrade, when your area gets 5G (Verizon has announced they are launching their 5G the second week in April in Minnesota and Chicago) you will have to get a phone that is capable of working with the new 5G networks. Thus far here is the list:
That’s it. No Apple version. No Eurpoean version. In fact, of these phones, the Galaxy s10 5G is the only one that will be available in the United States at the time of Verizon’s 5G launch in April.
Also, Verizon is also making available a 5G mod for the Moto z3 for $50. The retail price comes in at a cool $349.99 if it isn’t purchased in the promotional period.
Users should also know that if they are lucky enough to get access to a 5G network, they will be forced to pay extra for access to it. The price currently is an additional $120 per year on Verizon, other Telecoms haven’t announced a true 5G pricing strategy, even though most of them have rolled out some products claiming to have 5G capabilities on handsets that only offer 4G LTE speeds. As we stated above, these are marketing ploys.
Do you plan on using 5G when it’s rolled out? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. If you would like to know more information about the technology behind 5G subscribe to our blog today.
Coleman Technologies has been serving the British Columbia area since 1999, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses. Our experience has allowed us to build and develop the infrastructure needed to keep our prices affordable and our clients up and running.
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Langley, British Columbia V1M 0B2
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