| March 2006 |
| Behind the alphabet soup of technologies and standards is a long list of interesting career opportunities. Looking for a growth market? This is it. |
| By Don Willmott |
How can you tell that wireless networking is hot? Just pop open your laptop and log onto the Internet. Maybe you’re at home using your personal wireless network (or your neighbor’s). Maybe you’re at the office, or in an airport, or in a hotel lobby, or even on a park bench. In the near future, we’re going to expect access to a wireless hotspot virtually everywhere we go. As Frank Derfler, a connectivity expert who writes about networking for PC Magazine, puts it, “Wireless networking is beyond ubiquitous, it's mandatory!”
Of course someone has to design, implement, and market all that mandatory infrastructure. Maybe that person is you.
WHERE WE’VE BEEN, WHERE WE’RE GOING
The term “wireless networking” encompasses many concepts including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and even personal area networks (PANs) that are implemented with short-range Bluetooth technology. The most familiar technology is Wi-Fi, specifically Wi-Fi built on the IEEE 802.11b standard. The consistency of 802.11b, its rapidly plunging costs, and its easy implementation have taken it from nowhere to everywhere in less than 10 years.
802.11b was followed by 802.11a, a faster but incompatible standard that has found some traction but has been overtaken by a third standard, 802.11g, which has five times the throughput of 802.11b but is backwards compatible with all that legacy 802.11b equipment. Set up a wireless network today, and you’ll be choosing between b and g, with g costing more but promising better performance.
But that’s not the end of the story. Designing wireless networks is like painting bridges: the job is never done. In January, 2006 the IEEE ratified yet another standard: 802.11n, which promises increased range as well as 10 times the throughput of 802.11g and 40 times the throughput of 802.11b. “Wireless networking is at the point where it is eliminating the need to wire new houses and businesses with Category 5 cable. Last year, a Cat 5 cable drop in every room was mandatory in every building plan. This year that's so ‘last year,’” Derfler says. Also on the horizon: WiMax, which could be another quantum leap in wireless range and speed.
Conclusions:
- If you’re interested in networking, it’s absolutely vital to keep up with every fast-moving twist and turn in the technology. “You also need a solid foundation of networking knowledge and experience,” Derfler says.
- If the theoretical throughput of 802.11n, 540Mbits per second, proves real, it could upend traditional business uses of networking and telephony and open whole new markets in video and entertainment.
CITYWIDE HOTSPOTS
Chicago. Philadelphia. San Francisco. Denver. These are but a few of dozens of cities which have put out RFPs to construct massive Wi-Fi networks, in the case of Chicago a network that would cover a whopping 228 square miles. While its unclear if or how cities would charge for access, governments clearly feel that this kind of easily available connectivity is vital to keeping local economies humming. Proposals will be coming in from phone companies, local and national Internet service providers, and custom integrators. All are good places to keep an eye out for newly available positions in network design and management.
On a much smaller scale, wireless networks need to be installed in private homes, in offices, in hospitals and hotels, just about everywhere. Everyone from The Geek Squad to local cable companies are getting in on the act. Small wireless LANs are relatively easy to set up (hence their rapid proliferation), but those low barriers to entry mean that while getting started may be a snap, it’s harder to follow through with professional finesse. Derfler sees career opportunities there. “Anyone can install a wireless network access point badly in just a few minutes. Then professionals have to spend hours making it safe, secure, and reliable.”
David Castaneda, co-author of soon-to-be-released The Business Case for Enterprise-Class Wireless LANs (Cisco Press, April 2006) and the technical lead for internal wireless networking strategy at Cisco Systems, agrees. “The top 1 percent will have both networking and security backgrounds. This is essential to being successful. Surface knowledge when mixing these two disciplines is a recipe for disaster.”
Conclusions:
- It’s good to know what’s going on where you live. What is your region proposing? How much money is involved?
- If you have strong networking experience, look for opportunities to act as a consultant or planner. Do you know others who could act as your subcontracted installer?
- If you have security expertise on your resume, you’re one step ahead.
BEYOND WI-FI
In some situations, especially those where users are highly mobile on a daily basis, tradtional Wi-Fi hotspots don’t cut it. For on-the-go types, the latest trend is to add a “mobile router” to their laptops that uses a superfast cellular connection from their cell phone provider to connect to the Internet. Such gadgets connect to a PC card from a cellular carrier that provides a fast 3G connection. That means you can access the Net on your laptop from any location where you can make a cell phone call. The devices are pricey, but sharing the cost among several people makes it manageable. Expect to see them installed by transportation companies.
Another new concept: selling the excess bandwidth of a personal wireless network. Spain-based FON wants to set up the world’s largest network of hotspots (some 30,000 or more) by getting wireless network owners to sell their bandwidth to others who want to access it. The idea has attracted backing from such heavy hitters as Skype and Google.
Conclusions:
- Think globally, act locally. The ultimate overarching goal is to connect users with bandwidth. How can you use your skills to make that happen in your area?
- Do you have connections in traditional telecom companies? Pitching yourself to phone companies may seem counterintuitive, but that’s where a lot of the action is.
THE RIGHT TRAINING
According to Castaneda, there’s no substitute for experience in a wide variety of networking scenarios. “One thing I can’t recommend enough is a Network Management background. Management is the new black. Dealing with client issues and all the variables in any given wireless environment will be overwhelming to a person without a good background in network management principles. This is a real differentiator moving forward.” But what about formal training? “I’m not big on certification,” Castaneda says. “The technology isn’t all that difficult to handle. It’s all the variables that are problematic.”
The bottom line: all the indicators are pointing up, and anyone with a decent amount of networking experience should pay attention to all the action in the wireless world. We many not be able to see wireless networks, but we’re going to feel their power more and more in the years to come.
Don Willmott is a New York City-based journalist who focuses on internet and technology trends.
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