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Wirelss signals around a city.

Wave 1 and Wave 2 Wireless: A Comparison

Gartner predicts that 20.4 billion Wi-Fi connected “things” will be in use by 2020. With all of these devices, businesses and homes are likely going to need a more robust wireless solution.

The majority of users are now using a Wave 1 wireless connection. And don’t get us wrong, that’s not bad. Actually, it’s pretty good. Unless the majority of your organization is using its Wi-Fi network for gaming, streaming, and the processing of large files, Wave 1 is perfectly fine. However, as more devices begin joining wireless networks, the need for a more powerful solution will increase.

In the interest of comparing capabilities, we’ve put together a list of the three areas in which Wave 2 Wireless has a larger advantage than Wave 1.

Speed

Wave 2 Wireless is, without a doubt, much faster than Wave 1. The newer solution has speeds up to 6Gbps, far outpacing Wave 1’s max speeds of 1.3Gbps. Additionally, Wave 2 has four spatial streams compared to Wave 1’s three. Device speeds are proportional to the number of spatial streams they have, meaning Wave 2 is much faster. Higher speeds mean that end users can process large files and access data more quickly, increasing productivity and eliminating lag time.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth essentially means the rate at which data passes between two devices. The larger your bandwidth, the faster you’ll be able to download or stream larger files. Wave 1 Wireless uses 20, 40, and 80-MHz bonded channels in 5-GHz bandwidth, while Wave 2 Wireless uses 160-MHz on the same bandwidth, supporting additional bonded channels. For large organizations, larger bandwidth means that more devices are supported with better overall Wi-Fi performance. Think of adding more bandwidth like adding extra lanes on a highway. The more lanes (or in Wi-Fi’s case, channels) there are, the more people can get where they need to go.

Device Support

Wave 1 Wireless (otherwise known as the first version of 802.11ac) was created largely with laptops in mind. It uses SU-MIMO, which means that multiple streams of data can only be sent or received between one device at a time.

Wave 2, on the other hand, is more suitable for the demands of mobile devices as it has multi-user MIMO capabilities. This is an advantage because a wireless connection can be used to support dozens of devices all needing a high-bandwidth connection. These devices will also be able to get on and off of the wireless network more easily. Those advantages are especially useful in a business or university setting.

Next Steps

There are many advantages of switching to Wave 2 Wi-Fi: faster speeds, increased bandwidth, the ability to use more devices on a single network. All of these perks will allow your company to be more productive and host more end users on its wireless network, maximizing your ROI.

If these sound like benefits that you’re interested in, please reach out. We can help you determine if this solution is right for your business, and make the switch if it is.

 

Wireless Just Got Better with Wave 2

Whenever you think technology couldn’t possibly get better, it does. Let’s look at the development of the internet as an example. Specifically, wireless solutions.

Since its original creation at Xerox Parc 40 years ago, Ethernet has been the primary method of communication in the business field. However, as more and more technologies have been developed, the speed, freedom, and accessibility of internet is improving, and wireless communication has come into the picture. Today, we are interacting with wireless solutions daily. From radio, GPS, wireless USB or Bluetooth, mobile phones, laptops, wireless mouse, headphones, keyboards, printers, WiFi, satellite television, and more, the capabilities of wireless solutions have been recognized and used for years. In fact, at the end of 2015, carriers had invested over $177 billion into the wireless industry. With this in mind, it’s clear to see that the plug-in ethernet practice is losing its dominance. All these advancements and refinements have led up to the latest and greatest wireless upgrade: 802.11ac – also known as Wave 2 Wireless.

You haven’t experienced internet speed like this before.

Speed

Wave 2 Wireless is a supercharged version of its highly successful precursor, 802.11n. 802.11n was successful because it had provided businesses with the wireless connectivity speeds they needed to embrace Wi-Fi in their day-to-day operations. It let workers use wireless as their primary network medium of choice, and ultimately spurred the modern office wireless movement.

Wave 2 Wireless has not only aided in that process but made it even better. Wave 2 delivers speeds ranging from 433 Mbps (megabits per second) up to several (2.5!) gigabits per second. In order to do this, it works exclusively in the 5GHz band and uses plenty of bandwidth (80 or 160 MHz). It also operates in up to eight spatial streams (MIMO), and according to Wi-Fi Alliance, “Device speeds are proportional to the number of spatial streams.” So, with more streams and larger bandwidth, overall performance is much better. With all of this, you could regularly achieve the top upload/download speed allowed by your Internet provider.

Wave 2 Also Offers Freedom and Flexibility

This topic is a huge one. To begin, Wave 2 employs a kind of technology called beamforming that sends signals directly to client devices. As mentioned briefly in the previous paragraph, Wave 2 also supports multiple inputs and multiple outputs, known by the acronym MIMO. This means that the spectrum of multiple connected devices is much wider, and more and more devices can get on and off of the network. MIMO also greatly reduces the chances for interference and balances out speeds for all connected users.

 

What does this mean? It means you can have more and more access points. If you have multiple wireless access points, remote installations can spread over wide areas and into those hard to reach locations, contributing to the modern office wireless movement. A mobile work culture offers many, many benefits to modern companies. In contrast, traditionally wired infrastructures would be more complicated, expensive, and difficult to employ and maintain.

With the ability to easily support indoor and outdoor access points, you can sit outside or change locations and still remain connected to the internet. And, as mentioned before, Wave 2 supports additional 5 GHz channels. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, 65% of devices are now dual-band, so that means they can operate in both the 2.4 and 5GHz frequencies. So this means more devices in more places! And don’t worry, Wave 2 has much stronger security protocols, so you don’t have to worry about your data or devices getting attacked from the outside.

The Future of Wireless

In the upcoming future, more and more of our daily work lives will rely on and operate through a Wi-Fi signal. Automatic doors are already getting there, and technology in healthcare is a rapidly expanding field, so it’s only a matter of time before anything that requires wired or manual assistance is run wirelessly. In fact, Gartner (an American research and advisory firm providing information technology-related insight for IT and other business leaders) predicts that 25 billion things will be connected by wireless by the year 2020.

Wireless solutions have had the potential to revolutionize industries by adding flexibility and capability. With these advancements and the convenience that comes with them, it will not be far into the future when wireless becomes as widely adopted as traditional wired networks. And eventually, it may replace them completely!

Don’t let your business fall behind – make the switch.

Cognoscape is here to help you do just that. We will provide you with a custom IT roadmap, which we will tailor to help you succeed. We will keep you up-to-date on all the latest IT trends in various sectors of the industry (like network security, relocation, regulatory compliance, and cloud computing), especially wireless solutions. If you want your business ahead of the global pace, you need to set your company up with Wave 2 wireless, so contact the best IT security and IT support in Dallas, Texas and we’ll get you there!

 

Phone applications.

7 Cool Things You Can Do with a Wireless Connection

Wireless is commonplace for both businesses and homes alike. Essentially, it lets you ditch wires and connect to the internet anywhere within your router’s range. This means greater flexibility and freedom, which in turn boosts productivity. While these benefits alone are awesome, there are some other pretty neat things you can do with a solid wireless connection. Here’s are seven of them:

1. Listen to Music

You’re probably thinking, yeah… I can listen to music without wireless. Come on. And you know what? You can. BUT, you can’t listen to music anywhere on just about any device without wireless. With Bluetooth, you can stream your jams through high-quality, portable speakers on a camping trip, a hike, a day at the lake, and pretty much anywhere else.

2. Transfer Photos

While it’s not SUPER time consuming, it can be annoying to put your SD card into your computer’s card reader and wait for your photos to transfer. Even more annoying? When you forget the card in your machine and don’t have a backup on you. Looks like you won’t be capturing awesome sunset pics with your DSLR tonight, after all. Good news, there are now SD cards that have wireless technology built in so you don’t even need to take them out of your camera to transfer those pics, saving time and an “oh crap” moments later.

3. Stream Media

You could have a giant collection of DVDs (that’s a pain to sort through every time you want to watch a movie) and rely on your DVR to keep up with TV shows and hope to the network gods that your DVR box doesn’t run out of space halfway through recording your favorite show. OR, you could get with the 21st century and get a subscription to a streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime! Once you do that, your super fast wireless will allow you to stream thousands of shows and movies over Wi-Fi to a variety of devices. Score.

4. Boost Security

Wi-Fi can help you boost your at-home or business security. You can set up a basic security camera on a wireless network to detect motion (check out the YawCam app). With an app like Growl, you can set it to send you text or email alerts when it detects motion.

5. Game Without Delays  

Possibly the most obvious thing you can do with crazy fast wireless is getting your online game on. Gamers typically use an ethernet connection to the internet because, in the past, wireless has been slow and unreliable. It’s no fun to be in the middle of a raid or fighting off a group of angry fire elementals and have your connection crap out. Newer routers, with higher transmission speeds, minimize connection loss and let you game on, sans unnecessary interruptions.

6. Monitor Spaces

A wireless security camera isn’t exactly a replacement for in-person child supervision (please, please do not leave your young child unattended). But, you COULD use a wireless security camera to keep an eye on your sleeping baby after you put them to bed. Or to figure out who’s been eating all of those midnight snacks. Your choice.

7. Livestream Yourself

The internet combined with Wi-Fi enabled recording devices has created a boom in live streaming. Today, anyone with a smartphone can live stream themselves doing just about anything. Not to say everyone’s going to want to watch, but they might! 81% of people watched more live video in 2016 than 2015, and that number is continuing to climb. Live streaming is also a great move for companies, as 82% of people would rather watch a live video from a brand than scroll through their social posts. Looks like live video is here to stay.

If you’re interested in learning how to optimize your company’s wireless connectivity, give us a shout. We’d be happy to show you how updating your wireless solution can boost your organization’s speed, freedom, and flexibility.

Wireless tower in a city.

The Benefits of Going Wireless

There’s no doubt about it, wireless technology is mainstream. The number of people making the switch to wireless is increasing every day. By 2020, it’s there will be over 50 billion Wi-Fi connected devices worldwide. That’s a lot of radio waves!

There are many reasons why people are converting to wireless. This blog post is going to explore some of the best ones.

Less Hassle

Let’s be real. Wires are cumbersome, to say the least. They are messy, you trip on them, breakable, never long enough, and tangle easily. They’re essentially the worst thing about technology.

Going wireless means that you can greatly cut down on the use of wires in your business. Everything from mice, keyboards, printers, speakers, headphones, and phones are now wireless. Not only that, but they’re easy to use and many are hold a charge for a long time.

Mobility

Ever wanted to move to a quieter area of the office while continuing a call with a client but you couldn’t because you were wired-in? How about wanting to take your laptop outside and enjoy the sun while typing up a report only to be stopped by lack of a wireless connection?

Fact is, wires limit how you use your devices. Going wireless allows you to roam without losing your connection while working from a variety of locations.

Another way to increase mobility in your office (and beyond) is to ditch the on-premise server and switch to the cloud. According to North Bridge, “90% of organizations use the cloud in some way, with 50% using cloud service as their preferred solution.” Adopting a cloud solution is cost-effective and increases collaboration among employees. Now, combining wireless connectivity with the power of applications and data delivered via the cloud takes mobility to the next level, and that’s a win-win-win.

Flexibility

Going wireless makes it so much easier to reconfigure the office or set-up work areas when new employees join the team. It’s a hassle to move wired devices around and the possibility of mixing up wires or breaking them is always there.   

Being a wireless office means that you’re, quite literally, no longer tied down. Thus, you can use the valuable time you’d spend untangling, unplugging and plugging back in on more important projects.

Guest Access

Going wireless allows you to give secure guest network access to customers and business partners visiting your workplace. Gone are the days where the only place you could get an available wireless connection was a coffee shop. Customers these days expect many businesses to offer a free, stable wireless connection for the purposes of convenience and productivity.

Bonus. If you do offer wireless, customers consider this a value-add and another reason to do business with you over your competitors.   

Next Steps

No matter what industry you’re in, you can enjoy the benefits of going wireless. In a world with so many wireless devices and solutions, it just makes sense.

If you’re interested in learning more about how your company can take advantage of wireless technology, reach out to us. We’d love to talk to you about how we can improve your organization’s productivity by helping you go wireless!