Micro: do you need a 'dual-band' Wi-Fi router?

Dec 09, 2012 (Austin American-Statesman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- If you're shopping for gear to create or improve a wireless network in your home, one question you'll need to answer is whether you want a "dual-band" Wi-Fi router.

When they debuted, dual-band routers were pricey and aimed at early adopters with newer laptops and other bleeding-edge electronics using 802.11n Wi-Fi (faster so-called "Wireless-N" Wi-Fi as opposed to the older "Wireless-B" or "Wireless-G" standards).

Most routers, even ones that could do Wireless-N (also known as 5 GHz), would simply put out a signal compatible with new and old devices or give you the option to go all-N, making for a faster network that shut out older non-N electronics.

Dual-band routers instead create two separate networks, one for older devices (the B and G networks running at 2.4 GHz) and one for faster N devices like newer cellphones, laptops and some video streaming boxes. You might have a Wi-Fi network called "My Home Wi-Fi" and a second network that shows up as "My Home Wi-Fi 5Ghz." This allows the N devices to get faster speeds on the 5 GHz network without sacrificing support for older Wi-Fi gadgets. Dual-band routers have dropped in price as Wireless-N has gone mainstream. Manufacturers like Netgear, Apple and Cisco all make dual-band routers in the $100-$150 range.

In this space every week, we'll define a tech term, offer a timely tip or answer questions about technology from readers. Email ogallaga@statesman.com ___ (c)2012 Austin American-Statesman, Texas Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

[ Back To Contact Center Solutions Homepage's Homepage ]

Related Contact Center Solutions Articles

MetricNet Publishes 4 New Australian Benchmarks for IT Support, Contact Centres
[ Read More ]
05/21/2013

Liverpool Bosch Contact Center Hopes for Threefold Expansion by Year End
[ Read More ]
05/03/2013

Bunchball Unveils Augmented Gamification Tools for Jive Platform
[ Read More ]
04/08/2013

Teleperformance Earns the Multimedia Contact Center Award
[ Read More ]
03/19/2013

Shangri-La Unveils Customer Contact Center in China
[ Read More ]
03/13/2013

B. Braun Uses NextiraOne for UC and Contact Center Support
[ Read More ]
03/12/2013

Contact Centre Australia Generates Job Growth in Wellington, New Zealand
[ Read More ]
03/04/2013

[ View all Contact Center Solutions Articles ]

Contact Center Solutions Glossary of Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

Featured Whitepaper

Microsoft® Lync® in the Contact Center: Integrating with Customer Interaction Center™ to Provide a Barrierâ€free Customer Experience To implement contact center functionality, organizations using Microsoft Lync Server 2010 can follow the unified communications blueprint of open standards interoperability and integrate to a contact center solution of their choice. Customer Interaction Center (CIC) from Interactive Intelligence is a proven best of breed contact center solution that merits consideration ...

Featured Success Story

Interactive Intelligence all-in-one IP communications software suite integrated with Microsoft Lync helps Bentley save $200,000 annually.

Featured Product Demo

Contact Center Solutions Interaction Analyzer™

Interaction Analyzer™
Real-time word and phrase spotting. Alerting. Analytics. Scoring. Coaching. Watch how Interaction Analyzer turns every moment, of every past and present call, into data that lets you deliver an exceptional customer experience.