NCJ Number
206943
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 31 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2004 Pages: 134,136,137
Date Published
August 2004
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This first of a two-part series on wireless broadband communications for public safety agencies examines two alternatives that are currently available, i.e., Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) and wide-area cellular networking.
Abstract
Wi-Fi is a short-range technology that couples high-speed with low cost. It provides for radio data rates of 11 Mbps to 54 Mbps within 300 feet of an access point that is hardwired to a broadband Internet connection, which translates into 3 Mbps to 22 Mbps. Wi-Fi is suitable for "hot spot" environments where users intermittently have access to the Internet, as long as they can come within range of an access point. For wide or metro-area police operations, however, it has not proven to be functional. In contrast to the limited range of Wi-Fi, wide-area cellular networking solutions are more suited to mobile applications. Wide-area cellular networking is provided through public wireless carriers that use 2.5G and next-generation 3G technologies. The 2.5G technology, however, does not provide for the high peak data rates of Wi-Fi. The 3G cellular networks, which are beginning to come online, are far faster. In the meantime, some agencies have addressed some limitations of both Wi-Fi and cellular by using a combination of the two. This is a stopgap measure, however, forced by the limitations of available technologies. Part two of this series will profile up-and-coming technologies.