802.11b, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi, started in the enterprise environment as an alternative to Ethernet networks to provide the same data rates without wires, enabling a roamable campus environment, where employees could work anywhere within the office. As broadband penetration in homes through cable and DSL access grows, so does the desire to network the home to spread the content and services around so that every member of the family can enjoy what broadband has to offer from anywhere in the home.

While there are several choices for home networking, wireless networking through 802.11 seems to be the winner in gaining votes for ease of installation ( no need to wire your home with CAT5 cabling for Ethernet) and for ease of use (no need to worry about where your phone jacks are located as with home phoneline alliance or HPNA). The added convenience of mobility throughout the home is a very compelling thought to most homeowners.

The benefits of a wireless network in the home are definite turn-ons to most tech-savvy consumers. Just imagine working or playing from anywhere in your house. Work from home and sit on your deck on a beautiful sunny day. Network multiple PCs so that teenagers have their own Internet connection for schoolwork, gaming and emailing friends. Synch your PDA from anywhere in your house or sit in the kitchen and download recipes for dinner while you are putting away the groceries. The possibilities are endless.

The two primary wireless networking technologies are 802.11 and Home RF. Bluetooth, while a compelling technology, is more suited for a personal area network (PAN). It is limited by distance and bandwidth, which are required to network a home. Home RF was an early contender in the home networking space, but the use of 802.11 in the enterprise space and public places such as airports, hotels and even Starbucks, has increased its use in the home environment since employees want to be able to use the same technology at home as they do at work and on the road.

An 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) enables from 1-11Mpbs to be transmitted over 300 meters and beyond. However,there are several emerging standard specifications and technologies being developed to increase the data rate, range and security of 802.11. The IEEE standards body and task forces, which encompass different rates, enhancements and technologies, are all tasked with making 802.11 technology better for consumer use.

Opponents of 802.11 have been quick to attack 802.11a and 802.11b for lacking the quality of service (QoS) to handle IP telephony, having security issues, and being too costly for consumers to afford. As you can see from the chart above, there are significant efforts underway in the 802.11i task force to make 802.11 more secure. . The 802.11e task force is concurrently working to increase the level of QoS to handle new services such as IP telephony for home use.

What's next for 802.11b

While 802.11b has been deployed for some time in office environments, its growth in the home market has increased dramatically over the past year with several equipment providers offering complete self-install home networking kits that attach to a cable or DSL modem connection. And as the popularity of Wi-Fi has increased, technology providers are driving down the cost of silicon. This is leading to cheaper access points, PC cards, mini PCI cards and USB devices to enable sub $80 PC cards and decrease the total networking kit to below $350. Cost is a factor to the consumer but so is coverage area. Having to install multiple access points is not an easy task for an average consumer, or even a technology-advanced consumer, to tackle. Technology known as packet binary convolutional code, an option of the 802.11b standard from Texas Instruments, enables a 70 percent area increase to enable an entire home to be networked with one access point. This technology advance will also greatly affect the total cost of a home network.

In the future, Wi-Fi networks will distribute more broadband applications and services such as video, IP telephony and home security, as they become available through cable and DSL service providers. Additionally, 802.11-enabled devices will face another challenge - convergence of the wireless local, personal and wide area networks to provide wireless access anywhere and anytime. 3G-, Bluetooth- and 802.11-enabled devices are growing in popularity, and as they do a need for one device that supports 3G, Bluetooth and 802.11 in some combination (all three or two of the three) will be needed to operate in these different environments. Technology providers such as TI who have expertise in all three areas will lead this charge, but one thing is for sure - all of these new choices in wireless networking will lead to great benefits for consumers.

Marc Cetto is the general manager of the Home Networking Business Unit in Texas Instruments' Broadband Communications Group. He is responsible for the strategy definition, product definition, and marketing of TI products for home networking applications focusing primarily on wireless implementations. Mr. Cetto received a master's of science and engineering from the Ecole Nationale Superieure D'Arts et Metiers in Paris and an MBA at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciaes in Paris.