Over the last 10 years, the impact of wireless communications on how we live and do business has been undeniable. Wireless internet access has changed the world and the potential for wireless to further expand its boundaries is already being felt, thanks to its creators who are taking Wi-Fi technology to previously unexplored lengths. Whether we are using our mobile phones or our Wi-Fi�d computers, the need to stay on and always connected has never been more essential. In fact proponents speculate that soon everything, our cars and home appliances will be too. As with the internet itself and the forces that have shaped it, wireless internet access has taken a shape that has emerged from the imaginative twists and turns that have been made possible by digital technology. As one magazine put it, � Wi-Fi is itself a shining example of how wireless technology can shed the tethers of conventional wisdom.� At one point, it was assumed that wireless internet access was only possible through the investment-heavy standards that giant corporations have adopted. However, this was not to be so.

It was discovered that a new communication standard using the unlicensed �junk band� spectrum could be used for communication. Later referred to as 802.11, this range of signals turned out to be a great way to extend wireless internet access in the home or office. Eventually, hotspots started emerging with the goal of offering free wireless internet access to anyone who ventured within the range of these hotspots. Even places that had resisted bandwidth, especially remote areas have not escaped the Wi-Fi craze and pioneers are bringing wireless to these distant places. One advantage of wireless internet access is the fact that it does not require a big upfront infrastructure investment and is a low cost method of offering internet access.

Another interesting feature of wireless technology is that Wi-Fi is just a part of a dozen variants in this new revolution. Such methods as Bluetooth, GPs and RFID have continued to push for less and less wire and more and more ways of making wireless internet access possible. Wi-Fi is a luxury in some places while in others, it is a weapon and the only way to communicate. Undoubtedly, wireless innovations are quickly moving from the cutting edge to being the routine bringing with it new ways of communications and new ways of content distribution.

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