Why Use 802.11?

• Biggest reason: Non-licensed

  • Significantly less regulatory control
    • No expensive licenses or coordination.
    • The arcane regulatory knowledge needed for licensed radios is not needed.

• The hardware cost is magnitudes less than equivalent licensed technology.

  • Client cards are from $35 to $150; Access Points are from $50 to $500.
  • Even less than (non) unlicensed "carrier class" radios
    • Example: Western Multiplex/Proxim Tsunami point-to-point radios are $12,000 per end not including the thousands of $ for antennas, coax, installation, etc.

Notes: