With the adoption of smartphones and tablets, the need to stay connected while mobile has evolved from a niceto-have to a must-have. The use of wireless technologies improves our effectiveness and efficiency by allowing us to stay connected, regardless of the location or platform being used. As an integrated part of the conventional wired network design, wireless technology allows connectivity while we move about throughout the day. Wireless technologies have the capabilities to turn cafeterias, home offices, classrooms, and our vehicles into meeting places with the same effectiveness as being connected to the wired network. In fact, the wireless network has in many cases become more strategic in our lives than wired networks have been. Given our reliance on mobility, network access for mobile devices, including guest wireless access, is essential.

• Mobility within buildings or campus—Facilitates implementation of applications that require an always-on network and that involve movement within a campus environment.
• Secure network connectivity—Enables employees to be authenticated through IEEE 802.1X and Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), and encrypts all information sent and received on the WLAN.
• Simple device access—Allows employees to attach any of their devices to the WLAN using only their Microsoft Active Directory credentials.
• Voice services—Enables the mobility and flexibility of wireless networking to Cisco Compatible Extensions voice-enabled client devices.
• Consistent capabilities—Enables users to experience the same network services at main sites and remote offices.

Building-to-Building Connectivity Organizations ranging from hospitals with several departments to enterprises spread over multiple locations must be able to communicate with each other constantly and with critical applications, such as ERP or Managmement Information Systems. This requires secure, scalable, and high-performance communication solutions. Relying on wired connectivity only adds to complexity and high CapEx. Connecting buildings and campuses via wireless backhaul is much easier to deploy and far more cost-effective. Surveillance monitoring can also be implemented between the main office and branch locations for security services. Mobility, along with the flexibility for easy structural expansion of connected services and low capital costs is driving the wireless demand for building-to-building applications.

Why Wireless?

Wireless has many benefits. To list down a few: Secure: Contrary to popular belief, today’s wireless communications utilize several advanced encryption algorithms that ensure secure information exchange. Scalable: Modern, sophisticated wireless devices are designed to quickly and easily expand to new locations. Cost-efficient: By avoiding the capital expense of laying fiber and the operational expense of maintaining it, wireless communications proves to be far more cost-effective. Reliable: The latest wireless solutions are extremely reliable and provide uptime / availability of 99.99% and more. High Performance: With the advent of latest technologies, wireless solutions can provide throughput in excess of 4G speeds.

Myths and Facts of Wireless Communications

MYTH #1: Wireless communications are vulnerable to intrusion and attacks.

FACT: With the advances in wireless communications today there are multiple solutions for transmitting data securely. The most widely used in the wireless space is AES -128 or Advanced Encryption Standard, ratified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It is a secure, 128-bit key standard, which simply means that it would take 2128 operations or 340,282,366,920,938,463,4 63,374,607,431,768,211,456 turns to decipher the message for an unauthorized user, which is widely considered to be out of reach, even for contemporary computing techniques.

MYTH #2: Wireless devices require line of sight to operate.

FACT: MIMO (Multiple In and Multiple Out) technology enables devices to communicate in conditions when line of sight is unavailable. MIMO uses multiple receiving and transmitting antennas and leverWireless Medium Ethernet Cable Optical Fiber © 2014 All rights reserved. Proxim Wireless Corporation. 5 White Paper – Key Considerations and Benefits of Unwiring Backhaul ages the reflected signals of multipath as opposed to eliminating them. Another benefit of using MIMO is high throughput.

MYTH #3: Wireless backhaul is incompatible with existing backhaul.

FACT: Wireless backhaul technology allows seamless integration of wired backhaul networks with the newly deployed advanced wireless backhaul points, resulting in a complete hybrid model.

MYTH #4: High Capital Expenditure and low ROI are associated with wireless solutions.

FACT: Wireless offers the most cost-effective solution with LOW Capital Expenditure available today. A wireless solution eliminates the high cost of trenching and laying cable between Points of Presence (PoPs), resulting in a rapid and high return on investment.