Exploring the wireless LANscape

Several trends in the computer industry are rapidly driving the development and adoption of newer wireless networking technologies, which link devices to each other and to corporate LANs, primarily via radio-frequency (RF) technology. To maximize the usefulness of wireless LANs, vendors want technology based on open standards rather than on proprietary technologies, which have been used during the past 10 years. With this in mind, the IEEE and two industry consortia have developed three major wireless LAN standards: IEEE 802.11, HiperLAN and HomeRF. The paper discusses these standards.