Wireless Routers

A wireless home network uses wireless radio signals to communicate between devices on the network rather than wires. Without being tethered to a wired connection, a host of options are opened up in terms of flexibility for your computing experience. For example, you are free to:

check your e-mail on the back patio while eating breakfast or in front of the TV while watching your favorite show

share a single broadband connection among multiple computers in the house

share resources such as files or a peripheral such as a printer across multiple computers

play games that allow multiple players at different computers

What does it take to get a wireless network set up? Very little really, just two fairly simple plug and play components. The first is a wireless router which coordinates all of the traffic on the network and to the outside world. The second is a wireless network card for each computer which is desired to be included as part of the network.

What to Look For in a Wireless Router

You can think of a wireless router as being the concierge for your home network as it coordinates all network traffic within your home, all traffic into and out of your home and also provides other essential services such as security. The biggest decision to make when selecting a wireless router is the bandwidth it provides, in other words, the speed at which it operates. The speed each router operates at is defined by particular air interface standards. A high level overview of the four air interface standards you will see advertised are as follows:

802.11b: the first wireless products to hit the marketplace were based upon this standard and not surprisingly it is also the slowest

802.11a: faster data throughput than 802.11b and supports more simultaneous users, but it is more expensive, has a shorter range and also it is not compatible with 802.11b

802.11g: provides the same fast data rate as 802.11a, supports more simultaneous users than 802.11b, has a better signal range and is backwards compatible with 802.11b

Proprietary Solutions: Another forthcoming wireless standard to be called 802.11n promises more bandwidth and even greater range than 802.11g. Even though the standards are not yet completed, many manufacturers are getting a head start by producing equipment based upon what they think the standard will be. The downside is that compatibility compatibility issues exist between equipment from different vendors and potentially with the finalized standard.

When it comes to selecting the wireless router for your home network, in our opinion 802.11g is clearly the best choice as it provides the best combination of speed, compatibility and value. Whether you chose an 802.11g router or one based upon another standard, it is of utmost importance to verify that the network card that you select is either of the same standard or at least compatible with the chosen router.

Wireless Router versus Wireless Access Point

Also note that in addition to wireless routers, you may also see wireless access points being offered. Although they perform similar functions, an access point is typically used to expand an existing wireless network to include more users or to cover a larger area. A wireless router includes access point functionality, but also typically adds the ability for Internet connection sharing and security features such as a firewall. So unless you specifically know that you need an access point, a wireless router should serve as the centerpiece of your first home network.

Ready to Shop?

Four equipment vendors have captured the lion's share of the expanding marketplace for wireless routers - Belkin wireless routers, D-Link wireless routers, Linksys wireless routers and Netgear wireless routers. Feel free to read their product overviews to get a feeling for the strengths that each company has to offer, or selecting from the list of the most popular wireless routers is not a bad way to go either.