There are a few other, faster, methods of connecting to the Internet -- but the
chances that you'll ever run across a hotspot using one of them (say, a T-3 or
OC3 connection) is about equal to my chances of winning the Daytona 500 or
the Kentucky Derby: Don't hold your breath.
Anyway, most hotspots you'll encounter, like truck stops and large RV parks,
use either a high-speed satellite connection or a T-1 line as the method of
connecting the main access point to the Internet. Some of the smaller mom-
and-pop-operated hotspots, though, often employ a broadband cable or DSL
connection. For now, at least, it does the job. We'll probably laugh about it
one of these days.
Picking the Standard That
Meets Your Needs
Here we get back to the issues raised in the first portion of this chapter: After
you've identified your primary reason for wanting a wireless connection --
and reviewed what the various standards can (and can't) do for you, you can
make an informed decision among the standards and choose one that works.
Here are some examples of identified needs and the standards that best meet
those needs:
Connecting to the Internet at a hotspot. Almost every hotspot is con-
nected to the Internet at a rate no faster than about 1.5 Mbps. For that
reason, most of them utilize equipment (such as access points and
antennas) built around the 802.11b standard. Taking this into considera-
tion, 802.11b starts to look like the standard most likely to meet your
needs if your primary objective is making a basic connection to the
Internet.
Hotspot Internet connections and connecting within a home network.
Because many home networks are built around the 802.11g standard
(and considering that 802.11g is backward-compatible with the 802.11b
standard in use at most wireless hotspots), it follows that the 802.11g
standard might well be a good choice here.
Of course, you're not necessarily locked in to any one standard for all the
ways you use the Internet. Take a look at Chapter 3 to see the ways a laptop
can be adapted for more than one standard.
Chapter 2: Selecting a Standard
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