How does Wi-Fi Internet work?

Question

I dont mean the technical stuff. But do you just get a wireless card and you automatically have free access anywhere, or do you have to get a provider?

Answer 1

You still need a provider, and a base location. On top of that you will also need a wireless router to distribute your wireless signal throughout your home. Some cafes and stores offer free wifi service though =)

Answer 2

Not knowing the context, "WiFi Internet" could mean using WiFi to share an internet connection, or it could mean the actual internet connection.
If it is the actual internet connection, it could be provided by a WISP (Wireless ISP) as a means of getting you internet from their office (or tower up a mountain or something similar) to your house or business wirelessly. This is an alternative to something such as cable or DSL. Without getting to technical, it usually uses off the shelf hardware operating under the 802.11 (WiFi) spec, although sometimes only partially (as in 900MHz WiFi). It would consist of a radio and antenna at their office connected to the various equipment they use to serve internet, and another antenna and radio at your home/business. This would connect to your computer, or more commonly, a router and then to your computer(s).
If it is referring to WiFi as in a WAP (Wireless Access Point), there are many routers out there that have a WAP built in, and allow you to wirelessly access your internet connection for a short distance around.

Answer 3

Wi-Fi (also WiFi, wifi, etc.) is a brand originally licensed by the Wi-Fi Alliance® to describe the underlying technology of wireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. It was developed to be used for mobile computing devices, such as laptops, in LANs, but is now increasingly used for more services, including Internet and VoIP phone access, gaming, and basic connectivity of consumer electronics such as televisions and DVD players, or digital cameras. More standards are in development that will allow Wi-Fi to be used by cars in highways in support of an Intelligent Transportation System to increase safety, gather statistics, and enable mobile commerce

A typical Wi-Fi setup contains one or more Access Points (APs) and one or more clients. An AP broadcasts its SSID (Service Set Identifier, "Network name") via packets that are called beacons, which are usually broadcast every 100 ms. The beacons are transmitted at 1 Mbit/s, and are of relatively short duration and therefore do not have a significant effect on performance. Since 1 Mbit/s is the lowest rate of Wi-Fi it assures that the client who receives the beacon can communicate at at least 1 Mbit/s. Based on the settings (e.g. the SSID), the client may decide whether to connect to an AP. If two APs of the same SSID are in range of the client, the client firmware might use signal strength to decide which of the two APs to make a connection to. The Wi-Fi standard leaves connection criteria and roaming totally open to the client. This is a strength of Wi-Fi, but also means that one wireless adapter may perform substantially better than the other. Since Wi-Fi transmits in the air, it has the same properties as a non-switched ethernet network. Even collisions can therefore appear as in non-switched ethernet LAN's. Unlike a wired Ethernet, and like most packet radios, Wi-Fi cannot do collision detection, and instead uses a packet exchange (RTS/CTS used for Collision Avoidance or CA) to try to avoid collisions.


[edit] Channels
Except for 802.11a, which operates at 5 GHz, Wi-Fi uses the spectrum near 2.4 GHz, which is standardized and unlicensed by international agreement, although the exact frequency allocations vary slightly in different parts of the world, as does maximum permitted power. However, channel numbers are standardized by frequency throughout the world, so authorized frequencies can be identified by channel numbers.

The frequencies for 802.11 b/g span 2.400 GHz to 2.487 GHz. Each channel is 22 MHz wide yet there is a 5 MHz step to the next higher channel.

Answer 4

wireless or instant constancy has one in each of those connection varieties. the relationship style determines the coverage and velocity. that's the comparable style of information superhighway, however the only distinction is the coverage and the fee. the two connection varieties use radio waves for transmission. homestead wireless use get admission to factors(wireless Routers) to get related. cellular information superhighway use radio waves from cellular towers that are close to your contemporary region. 3G vs side = 3G is 5 circumstances swifter to acquire 3G vs homestead wireless = 3G is a million/3 the fee of homestead wireless

Answer 5

if u looking to get outside ur house than u need a provider like T-mobile, cingular, sprint or Verzion.