The big threat to 802.11b

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020606.html">http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020606.html</a><br /><br />Very intriguing article by Cringly - man I love his stuff! The pefect blend of hard core tech and "out of the box" thinking. Check this one out...<br /><br />"There is a very good writer named Steve Stroh who specializes in wireless technology, and almost a year ago, he wrote an article that really disturbed me...Steve predicted the extinction of 802.11 WiFi wireless networking because of RF interference from a new kind of light bulb. This new lighting source uses RF energy to excite a gas that then glows brightly, which sounds a heck of a lot like a neon lamp, except this light, which comes from a company called Fusion Lighting, is supposed to be vastly more energy efficient than neon. This apparently catches us between a rock and a bright place: Do we want wireless LANs and satellite radio, or would we prefer to build fewer power plants and import less oil? Forgetting for a moment that this sounds like just the kind of story I might write, what's really interesting about it is that nobody but Steve Stroh and a couple satellite radio outfits seems to care. Then I figured it out..." Source: angelseye2000

[klinux]

I love Cringeley too but this special bulb thing sounds fishy. I do not like any company whose name is too similar to 'cold fusion'. :roll:

[medic119]

very interesting perspective, and it makes a lot of sense.

Only problem is he didn't take into account for the 802.11g wireless protocol supposedly coming out very soon now.

[Brad Adrian]

It is an interesting article, but as others have mentioned, other wireless protocols (not only 802.11a or g) will likely be on the scene much before this bulb is either available or widespread.

It brings out an interesting point, though, about interference from unlikely places. For instance, I know people who say their WiFi systems suffer from interference from 900mHz cordless phones. Mine doesn't seem to be, but I wonder how many people do experience it.

[Duncan]

other wireless protocols (not only 802.11a or g) will likely be on the scene much before this bulb is either available or widespread.
You are kidding - right? All these companies, that have spent huge quantities of money on 802.11b - which CANNOT be upgraded to 802.11a or g - will have these networks in place for a LONG time to come. The idea that they will all have upgraded to 802.11a or g within 5 years or even 10 seems to be in the realm of fantasy... hel a lot of these companies will still be using Windows 2000 in five years time - it works, it does the job, so they'll keep it!

[Jonathan1]

other wireless protocols (not only 802.11a or g) will likely be on the scene much before this bulb is either available or widespread.

You are kidding - right? All these companies, that have spent huge quantities of money on 802.11b - which CANNOT be upgraded to 802.11a or g - will have these networks in place for a LONG time to come. The idea that they will all have upgraded to 802.11a or g within 5 years or even 10 seems to be in the realm of fantasy... hel a lot of these companies will still be using Windows 2000 in five years time - it works, it does the job, so they'll keep it!

Duncan,
Long time to come does not exist in the tech industry. You think that 11mb's is going to be enough for most companies in the long run? No eventually you are going to see companies moving into the 50 and 100mb range when it shows up. Look at the desktop side of things. There are VERY few companies that are still running 10mb connections. Most if not all are on 100mb full. Most likely within a few year 802.11b will be obsolete. And its not like these lights are going to be showing up on the street tomorrow. Florissant lights are cheap, reliable and are the industry standard. Rough guess. 1-2 year out before they start showing up. And when they do companies will start complaining to the cities they reside in which will most likely result in the cities taking a critical eye to these new lights.

Anyways in 5-10 years spread spectrum is going to catch on. As I commented on another board this cut-it-up-and-distribute-it-to-the-masses is going to go away eventually as soon as we run out of spectrum to play with. The only problem is the FCC and the military in that they won't release enough of the spectrum that is dedicated to the military to make SS work. That will eventually change, as consumers DEMAND more speed. And SS WILL give users just that (Think gigabit connection wirelessly)

With that being if these lights do catch on do you think fortune 500 companies and the business world in general won't throw up such a stink that the FCC will have not choice but to deal with it?
The sky ain't falling. Even though the author of this article want you to think it is.

Oh I have a question myself. How many companies have fully rolled out 802.11b networks? Seriously. Enterprise wide what are the numbers? Has Garner gotten any numbers? I have talked to about 10-15 IT shops that refuse to instigate wireless until a more secure system comes along. Actually where I work if you put up anything wireless on our WAN its grounds for immediate termination.

[Duncan]

I can see one very good reason why these lights will appear fast - energy efficiency. I can see Californian companies in particular jumping at these lights! :wink:

[JimV]

What would be really interesting if someone figured out how to use the normal radio energy used in wireless networks to power these lights. You wouldn't have to worry about interferrence, because the interferrence would be the network. The electronics for wireless keep shrinking and comming down in price. Maybe they can be incorporated into the lightbulbs. Think about how cool it would be to screw an access point (or maybe just a repeater) into a light socket or to have streetlights providing wireless access as you travel down the highway or walk the streets.

[Duncan]

Stranger things have happened... a Scottish Electricityprovider is shortly going to trial broadband net access through power lines - that would be one step towards your idea!