TKK | Tietoverkkolaboratorio | Opetus
In everyday world, WLAN at home is not such an appealing idea as it is in office or other productive places. The normal home has only only one computer, linked to the internet via modem, ISDN or ADSL. What is most important is the fact that it is a stationary PC. So the main advantages of WLAN go unused. There aren´t several nodes to be attached to the WLAN network at arbitary moments. There is no need for general mobility, because the PC itself is non-mobile! About the only advantage in a home WLAN would be getting rid of most of the cables...
Taken one step further, the use of WLAN in whole apartment buildings could change things. Let´s apply what we have learned previously about the benefits of WLAN and create a scenario: Nowadays, households as single units have their own internet connections, be it modem, ISDN or ADSL. In the very near future, WLAN could be used to link a whole apartment building into the internet. A building-wide WLAN could relatively easily be built into old condominiums and a single high-speed fiber-optic line would connect the WLAN into the internet. Widespread use of such configurations, especially in densely populated areas, would spell disaster for modems, ISDN and propably ADSL too, these being too slow to connect a whole LAN into outside world. The Internet Service Providers, or ISP´s would propably still be essential, maintaining the high-speed connection.
In this scenario, individual households would have an easy access to a very fast, cheap, 24/7 internet connection. The cost of the optic line would be split between the whole apartment building. This would likely be a whole lot less than what they allready pay from ADSL (~250 mk/month) or ISDN/modem with their fixed monthly costs PLUS the cost to the phone company. Adding to this condo-wide network would be easy as one-two-three: Laptop, PC, handheld, printer, a toaster, anything with WLAN capabilities!
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