Wireless Safety

[Qiranworms]

Ok. It is pretty well confirmed that cell phones can significanty increase the risk of a brain tumor. Is there any relation to this and wireless home networking?

I am entirely aware that there are several differences.

a) A cell phone is right next to your head while in use, a computer is not.
b) A cell phone has to send signals within a radius of a mile. 802.11b tends to be around 300 feet.
c) I believe (I'm not entirely sure) that cell phones are higher then 2.4 GHz.

Does anyone know anything about this? I am planning to network my house sometime soon, and I'm fully aware that wireless is the coming technology. HomePNA is dying, and ethernet won't satisfy moving my laptop from room to room. Besides, having highspeed internet outside of the house would be amazing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[neb1211]

c) I believe (I'm not entirely sure) that cell phones are higher then 2.4 GHz.

Just to let you know cell phones are on the 2.4ghz band.

 

[randy]

Cell phones will only hurt you if you talk 24/7 for like twenty thousand years. Now do you think you will live that long anyway? And do you use our phone 24/7? Dont think so. Theres your answer. Same with networks.

 

[neb1211]

you might experience interference if you have a 2.4ghz cordless phone. You might want to go with 802.11a instead of 802.11b if you can afford the extra cost for a. But if you don't live in a crowded neighborhood full of 802.11b accesspoints like i do then 802.11b would be just fine.

 

[þÄ®âÐÖx]

802.11g is starting to look like the best option, but I've seen mixed reviews of the products that have been released so far. I'd wait until the official spec is released and see what comes out then.

For more information on 802.11a vs 802.11g, see this article

Also refer to the articles released on Tom's hardware guide:
Part 1 and Part 2

 

[randy]

Go with 802.11a, its the fastest on the market, if speed is what u are looking for.

 

[þÄ®âÐÖx]

If you read the article in my above post, you would see that although faster speeds are possible with 802.11a (by combining channels), it's higher frequency means that the range is considerably lower (it's only about 80 feet). Without combining channels, 802.11g and 802.11a run at the same speed (54mbps), so if you want the best compromise between speed and range 802.11g is probably for you.

 

[randy]

þÄ®âÐÖx, I disagree with you. 802.11g is still in the "developement" stage, i would not recommend g until the future when it it more stable.

 

[þÄ®âÐÖx]

Quote from my previous post: "I'd wait until the official spec is released and see what comes out then."

 

[randy]

ok, sorry, I didn't see that part.