Advantages and disadvantages of wireless technologies

Wireless communication is an integral part of our lives. It has led to many modern technologies, including smartphones, wireless computer networking, and wireless personal digital assistants. We use these devices every day to perform everything, from calling, shopping, checking our emails, to transferring money.

A wireless device creates a wireless link using radio waves or Infrared light to establish two-way communications, while a wired network uses a data link layer and physical layer. Less wiring means greater flexibility, increased efficiency, and reduced wiring costs as well. Wireless networks offer organizations and users many other benefits such as portability, increased productivity, and lower installation costs. The coverage range of wireless technologies is very broad, which is very helpful for users according to their use.

Typically, a wireless network is categorized into three groups based on its coverage range: Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWAN), WLANs, and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). WLAN devices allow their users to move their laptops and other handheld devices from place to place within the office premises without the need for wires and without even losing network connectivity.

Your IT Department (Based in the Leicester Region) understands IT support is often necessary to keep these devices running smoothly. Many people don’t know how to properly maintain their wireless devices or how to troubleshoot problems when they occur. That’s where IT support comes in. IT support technicians are trained to help users with all aspects of their wireless devices, from setting up new devices to troubleshooting existing problems.

IT support can be provided by a number of different organisations, including wireless service providers, device manufacturers, and IT consulting firms. Wireless service providers typically offer these services as part of their service contracts. Device manufacturers also often provide IT support to users of their products.

Solve your IT problems through technical support from IT specialists.

Below, the article lists the main advantages and disadvantages of a wireless network.

Advantages of wireless

• Increased efficiency – Improved data communication leads to faster data transfer within businesses and between partners and customers. This enables salespeople, for instance, to remotely check stock levels and prices whilst on sales calls.
• Better coverage and mobility – Wires bind you to a single location. Going wireless allows you to move around without losing your connection, and it eliminates the need for extra cables or adaptors to connect to office networks.
• Flexibility – Wireless office workers can be networked without sitting at a dedicated computer, allowing them to continue working productively while away from the office. This could lead to new working styles, such as working from home or directly accessing corporate data while on customer premises.
• Cost savings – Wireless networks can be easier and less expensive to set up, especially in historic buildings or where the landlord refuses to allow cable installation. The lack of wires and cables reduces the cost. This is achieved through a combination of factors, including the relatively low cost of wireless routers, the lack of need for trenching, drilling, and feeding wires inside walls, or other physical connection methods. Furthermore, no wire maintenance is required.
• Adaptability – Fast and easy integration of devices into the network and high flexibility when modifying an installation.
• New opportunities/applications – Wireless allows businesses to offer new products or services. Many airport departure lounges, train stations, hotels, cafes, and restaurants, for example, have installed hot spot wireless networking services to allow travelers to connect their equipment to their home offices while on the road.

Disadvantages of wireless

Wireless networks have several key benefits over wired networks, but there are also some disadvantages, such as security. Wireless networks are convenient and popular, but without security are easy to hack and leave your data at risk.

Wireless networks are generally not as secure as wired networks. At their most basic level, Wired networks send data between two points, A and B, which are connected by a network cable. However, wireless networks broadcast data in every direction to every device that happens to be listening within a limited range. A wired network can be secured at its edges, for example, by restricting physical access and installing firewalls. A wireless network with the same measures in place is still vulnerable to eavesdropping. Therefore, wireless networks require a more focused effort to maintain security.

There are certain drawbacks or disadvantages associated with the use of wireless networks.

• Security – Wireless transmission is more vulnerable to attack by unauthorized users, so particular attention has to be paid to security.
• Installation problems – If others in the same building use wireless technology or if other sources of radio signals are present, you may experience interference. It could result in sluggish communication or, in the worst-case scenario, the complete loss of wireless communication.
• Coverage – It can be difficult to get consistent coverage in some buildings, resulting in black spots where no signal is available. For example, it may be difficult to pick up the radio frequencies used in structures constructed with steel reinforcing materials.
• Transmission speeds – Wireless transmission can be slower and less efficient than wired networks. In larger wireless networks, the backbone network will usually be wired rather than wireless.

Let’s sum up.

Wireless network technologies connect without wires our high technology devices to either a high-speed network or another device. In the past, wires would have to be placed from room to room or floor to floor, the setup price was costly, and the time to set up a wired network was vastly increased, among other things. Nowadays, setting up a wireless network setup is easy to do. There are a ton of wireless products to choose from, in addition to plenty of resources available to help you with the setup and configuration of the wireless network if needed. Different technologies can be chosen to best suit the application requirement, and the data transmission range can vary from a few meters to several kilometers. Wireless networks certainly offer new opportunities for industrial solutions, but they must be implemented with special attention to security.