Wireless LANs
Advantages very flexible within the reception area Ad-hoc networks without previous planning possible (almost) no wiring difficulties (e.g. historic buildings, firewalls) more robust against disasters like, e.g., earthquakes, fire - or users pulling a plug... Disadvantages typically very low bandwidth compared to wired networks (1-10 Mbit/s) due to shared medium many proprietary solutions, especially for higher bit-rates, standards take their time (e.g. IEEE 802.11) products have to follow many national restrictions if working wireless, it takes a vary long time to establish global solutions like, e.g., IMT-2000 Design goals for wireless LANs global, seamless operation low power for battery use no special permissions or licenses needed to use the LAN robust transmission technology simplified spontaneous cooperation at meetings easy to use for everyone, simple management protection of investment in wired networks security (no one should be able to read my data), privacy (no on...