Did You Know Wireless Devices Were This Important in Today's World?

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Telecommunication devices have come a long way from the time of smoke signals and notes on a pigeon's foot, but one of the most amazing advances has by far been the possibility of doing all of this without any of the traditional wires needed. Wireless communication does not only refer to smart-phones and Wi-Fi, it is every kind of possible communication where there is a transfer of information or power, but there is no connection whatsoever. The most common and known is the radio, which can be at short-wave and travel only a few meters, or as much as millions of kilometers for deep-space communication. You can find on the list great variety in the different types of communication like two-way radios, PDAs, GPS, garage door openers, wireless gadgets like headphones, keyboards and mice, broadcast and satellite television and of course cell phones and Wi-Fi. If you take a minute and start to really analyze how many of the devices you use on a regular basis are wireless, and not to mention which ones you’ll be using a year from now. Wireless is on the rise while offering consumers a more pleasurable experience without any of the hassle brought on by cables, and receiving the same service. 

We think wireless and of course we immediately think Wi-Fi and the advances there have been with 4G and now 5G communication, which you can read more about on the Don Burns Blogspot page, but it goes beyond that. Wireless communication, believe it or not, started off even before the 1900s when Guglielmo Marconi developed the first wireless telegraph, which started off a wave of other inventions including basic data compression, initial technology behind cellular phones, and radiotelephones during the early 1900s. From there, you could easily list the devices that started popping up in the 50s and 60s from microwave signals and satellites, which were launched into space. Around this time, some associations also started appearing with the purpose of controlling communication as it started to be implemented, among these were: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (INTELSAT). In the 80s, you could definitely say there was a boom in technology and it can be said this was the birth of the cell phone, since this is when the technology we know today was refined, leading to the beginning of the “technological wars” that would establish the competition grounds for digital cellular standards in 1989. In the 90s, there’s no surprise when records are broken, and the 10 million milestone was surpassed by cell phone users and the size of the internet just continues to exponentially grow.

The 2000s brought tons of new and interesting advances that now allowed users to interact more than ever. This tech had become such a part of everyday life that in 2009 it was registered that over 6.2 billion minutes were used by clients and more than 5 billion SMS messages were sent per day, all via wireless networks. During these years, was also the creation of the iTunes and the Android Play Store bringing about a brand new way of interacting. Apps on smart phones are now integrated into almost every part of our lives, and it seems that this is not the end of it. From here there was an even more advanced integration, which is the Internet of Things (IoT), allowing users to use the internet networks to communicate with devices around the home, office or city to carry out specific tasks.

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So, even though this was a brief timeline, you need to also realize that there are different types of wireless signals, which will be determined by the device being used. For instance, on a TV you are either using analog video or digital video, whereas on a cell phone you are using voice, be it via analog or digital, 3G, 4G or LTE, Bluetooth, or two-way radio. Satellites can carry all types of signals independent if they carry voice, audio, video or data, or even if they do so through analog or digital. The other consideration is the frequency of the signal, which are all supported by these satellites from 3400 MHz to 23 GHz, or others. Then you Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and finally radio which synchronizes on AM and FM radio. In this whole mix you’ll find devices that could be transmitters, receivers, or transceivers. Each of these will take on a particular role in the wireless communication service: wireless clients (which are the stations that use the connection to interact), access points (which the host of the signal), and Ad-Hoc Nodes (which allow a network of devices to connect to a specific access point).

The list could go on about devices or wireless tech, but at the end of the day the purpose of all of this is maintaining communication as we have the possibility of going mobile. There’s now doubt that there will only continue to be advances in this field in the years to come.

The invention of WiFi, a revolutionary tool that has changed the world.

WiFi (also Wi-Fi) is a technology that allows electronic devices to access to a wireless LAN network. it has evolved at the same time technology has been doing it but, what makes WiFi that special is the possibility it offers to users to get access to a WLAN in any place. Before, it has to be done in a static way, having sit in front of a computer that was connected with a cable to the phone line, where it got the access to internet. Now, thanks to the advances engineers have made, it is possible to depend on a small device that is usually password protected, but may be open, which allows any device within its range to access the resources of the WLAN network.

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The WiFi Alliance defines Wi-Fi as any "wireless local area network". However, the term "Wi-Fi" has been adopted as an English synonym for “WLAN”. It is because for users the word WiFi is easier to pronounce and thanks to it, "Wi-Fi" is a current trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Actually, the "Wi-Fi Certified" trademark can only be used by Wi-Fi products that successfully complete Wi-Fi Alliance interoperability certification testing.

As this new technology allows people to get access to WLAN from different location within the range of the device, new devices has been created thanks to it. For example, new cell phones, better known as smartphones, emerged after the WiFi invention. Cell phones were before used for making and receiving calls but after WiFi invention, phones became into an everyday tool that allows people to get immediate access to e-mail accounts, browsers and social networks. So that, people are in touch easier and information is available in real time.

Social networks has also evolved thanks to WiFi browsers’ invention. Previous social network allowed people to share information and have new friends but since people were not in front of a computer (the only source to get access to them) information people shared was not up-to-date. Now, people’s posts, comments, photos, videos are been shared in real time and their followers or friends (the name depends on the social network) can know if they are in an airport or having a meal in some restaurant. Devices which can use Wi-Fi technology include personal computers, video-game consoles, smartphones,digital cameras, tablet computers and digital audio players as well as printing devices that have the option of sending information wirelessly to another device, both connected to the local network, in order to print a document.
WiFi is a tool that not only has revolutionised the way people communicate but also the way societies behave. Although the discussion here is quite extensive and different sectors have different points of view, there is no discussion that the idea of having access to websites everywhere you are have change people’s habits as well as cities’ urban design.

The potential for WiFi is endless. For example, police can already track criminals in an instant via mugshots being sent over a device, public can be well informed, warned or alerted about unusual situations via Twitter or through the official websites of government institutions or mass media. Or,in healthcare establishments it is possible to notice many major advances using WiFi, such as way-finding tools to get patients to the right location, opportunity to receive feedback on services, information on waiting times, monitoring use of resources around a hospital building and so on.

An enterprising move or wave comes from the plans to ‘connect’ whole cities. The benefits of creating a WiFi solution for whole cities at once clearly is an attractive proposition for both city managers and citizens. For the city it may improve lifestyles. Children now can get access to information that previously were available in books only. They can also be involved in foreign language learning easier that time ago because several companies have designed their teaching programs via Skype and some free platforms where people guide their learning process in the way that better fit for them. Plus, the possibility of working at home does not seem weird because some companies just need their employees have internet access and that’s all, they are hired. In this way, cities reduce their traffic because some people do not need to go out for working, they are doing it from home.

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Nevertheless, it has to be taken into consideration they way people is using in a massive way devices that pollutes. This is the most remarkable issue WiFi era has bring up. Global Warming has been accelerated since people acquire and use different WiFi devices.