Imagine being able to check email in the garden? Or surf the net from a kitchen table? Well, a wireless home network makes this a reality. It frees a computer from having to maintain a physical cabled connection to a broadband modem, so with a laptop a user can wander anywhere in their home while maintaining Internet access.
Wireless systems can also be shared among several computers. So, for example one person can be online using the main desktop computer in the study while their partner is also getting fast Internet access on a laptop downstairs.
Wireless systems are ideal if there are two heavy Internet users in the same home. It is not only a broadband connection that can be being shared. The network can be harnessed to access work, music and even video files on a laptop that are actually stored on a main desktop PC.
Most wireless system has a reach of up to 50 metres - more than enough for most UK homes, and as it is secure only the users will be able to access it.
How you go wireless depends on what kind of broadband system you have. If you have a cable broadband connections you may need to chose a wireless router - the conduit between the PC and the computer modem which outputs the wireless signals - with an Ethernet connection,. For ADSL connections as offered by BT AOL and others one with a USB connection is the more likely option. Wireless routers start at around £50 and go up to £100. Makes to look for include Linksys, D-Link and Netgear.
There's no need to call engineers to install it either. Just by following the instructions the network can be up and running within an hour.
Wireless networks aren't just about work though. Via a laptop users will be able to hear their favourite Internet radio stations wherever they are in the home. Or maybe watch streamed video from the net.
In the future one of the boxes under a TV, maybe a DVD player or games console, may also play a role in a wireless network. This will bring videos, photos and music from the Internet or from a main PC on to the TV screen and hi-fi.
So just as broadband transformed the way you use the Internet, so wireless systems can take it to yet another dimension.
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