802.11g VS 802.11a

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I'm trying to decide whethor to get 802.11a or 802.11g. Range would
not be an issue... It's only for a house. I currently am using 802.11b
and notice significant connectivity issues with phones, etc.
I hear that the 802.11a travels on the 5ghz? Will my new 5.8ghz
cordless phones cause issues with 802.11a if that is the case? I'm
wanting to go with whatever is reliable -- forget cost/range.
Thanks so much for any input you guys can give...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Dabuek" <dpatrick@meuccicues.com> wrote in message
news:69b05da1.0405201053.6238cfc9@posting.google.com...
> I'm trying to decide whethor to get 802.11a or 802.11g. Range would
> not be an issue... It's only for a house. I currently am using 802.11b
> and notice significant connectivity issues with phones, etc.
> I hear that the 802.11a travels on the 5ghz? Will my new 5.8ghz
> cordless phones cause issues with 802.11a if that is the case? I'm
> wanting to go with whatever is reliable -- forget cost/range.
> Thanks so much for any input you guys can give...

I don't know why you would necessarily ask that here, but here goes. I
would bet that there would be minimal if any interference from the phone.
Typically they use different channels just as the 2.4 GHz units do. All of
the technologies you mention are reliable. So, I don't understand that
concern. But what I don't understand is why you would change out the
802.11b? Unless you are transferring very large files from machine to
machine on the network, you will not see any performance increase. Most
people will use the network to print, share an occasional file and accessing
the Internet. 802.11b does that quite well. The advantage of 802.11b is
that most external "hot spots" fully support it. 802.11a and g are not
supported widely. ("g" suports "b" and that is it's advantage over "a".)
If I were to some how need the additional speed that "a" and "g" deliver, I
would pick "g" as it is the most flexable as to what it connects to.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Dabuek" <dpatrick@meuccicues.com> wrote in message
news:69b05da1.0405201053.6238cfc9@posting.google.com...
>
> I'm trying to decide whethor to get 802.11a or 802.11g.


You can always get an a/b/g system and not worry about
making choices.


> Range would not be an issue... It's only for a house.


Then you should really use a.


> I currently am using 802.11b and notice significant
> connectivity issues with phones, etc. I hear that the
> 802.11a travels on the 5ghz?


Yep.


> Will my new 5.8ghz cordless phones cause issues with
> 802.11a if that is the case?


Nope, 600-800 MHz provides a lot of separation. 5.8 GHz
is far away from 5 GHz -- though you should be aware of
the fact that "5 GHz" is being used generically, it is
actually more like 5.2 GHz.


> I'm wanting to go with whatever is reliable -- forget
> cost/range.


There is no inherent difference in reliability between
a/b/g. There are differences in range, performance and
security.


> Thanks so much for any input you guys can give...


IIRC either Linksys or Netgear (or maybe both) have a
white paper on their web site that explains the pros
and cons of the 3 methods.

Briefly, a offers higher bandwidth, greater security
and freedom from interference, but shorter range. I
wouldn't use anything else for my home setup. b/g is
the choice for travel, offices and public hotspots.



dk

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Dabuek wrote:
> I'm trying to decide whethor to get 802.11a or 802.11g. Range would
> not be an issue... It's only for a house. I currently am using 802.11b
> and notice significant connectivity issues with phones, etc.
> I hear that the 802.11a travels on the 5ghz? Will my new 5.8ghz
> cordless phones cause issues with 802.11a if that is the case? I'm
> wanting to go with whatever is reliable -- forget cost/range.
> Thanks so much for any input you guys can give...

..11g will be more flexible - that is, more likely to be compatible with
other networks you come in contact with (especially "hotspots" in
airports, cafes, etc) that you may want to use. Also, signals at 2.4GHz
tend to propagate slightly better in a cluttered (ie, doors and walls)
enviromnet like a house or office, so the range, at the same power, is
probably better. I've qualified this because in the wireless world,
every network environment is different, and it's difficult to precisely
predict anything.


Also, any .11a gear you buy for your laptop will work in the frequency
range 5.15-5.35GHz, so your 5.8GHz cordless whouldn't be a problem,
provided it meets spec for out-of-band transmissions. There is a .11a
band at 5.725-5.825GHz, but it's reserved for higher power use and it's
most unlikely you'll come in contact with it.

-p