Will Next G Kill The Wifi Star ?

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Is the Future of WiFi Limited?

It is probably and likely should be impossible to purchase a laptop today without a built in WiFi adapter. Most A/B/G cards sport relatively great performance considering their lack of external antenna adapter however improvements sensitivity and better filtering in the radio units themselves have increased their functionality. But I wonder if this is all just a little bit too late – has WiFi run its course, is it obsolete and on the chopping block ready to be killed by the Next G Star ?

I think it might be close, I tested the Maxon BP3-EXT , the Maxon BP3-USB , and the Option GTMAX all supplied by Telstra Bigpond wireless.

Speed

Let me say I was extremely impressed with the speed; running download tests I was achieving steady 350k/s throughput in Microsoft’s download indicator which is more than double the speed of a 1500mb/s connection.

Let me say that I can see a very bright future this technology, my only disappointment with this hardware was the necessity for software. Although the software is intuitive and easy to install and use the fact that it plugs into USB rather than Ethernet means it cannot be connected to a router and used as a network’s primary internet connection. However this issue can easily be overcome by installing the unit into a PC with Internet Connection Sharing. I’ve seen a few installations done like this particularly building sites with no ADSL connection or perhaps a large marine vessel and although data can get expensive there are very real circumstances when this is the best solution.

Range

The software on the Maxon BP3-USB and on the Option GTMAX that indicates signal strength is no scientific laboratory measuring device that is unashamedly similar to Microsoft’s wireless signal strength indicator. However it does represent a reasonably accurate image of your signal quality in its 5 bar signal strength indicator which does lend itself to a little lag.

Antenna Modifications

Thankfully someone on the design teams both at Maxon and at Option had the foresight to make possible the addition of external antennas without pulling the units apart and soldering. (Thanks but that’s fun too -)

Adding an external antenna from Wifitech improved signal from 2 to 4 and sometimes 5 bars. That’s what I would say is the easiest fix for someone on the fringes or just wanting a larger bar. The antenna we tested was the WTNG05 and can be found here.

Conclusion

This technology has benefited greatly by the lessens learnt from manufacturers through the WiFi era. This equipment is both reliable, robust and even to some degree flexible. I can see great things for Next G as the costs of bandwidth become less cost prohibitive. I think we may all soon have one of these adapters in our laptops to enjoy true mobile computing.

Thanks,

Steve