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WIFI FOR EVERYONE AKASH KUMAR DEY

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INTRODUCTION

Communication has come a long way since cavemen painted their dinner on the

wall -- and nothing has evolved faster than the Internet. In just thirty years the

Internet has grown from a broken memo between two professors at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology into the biggest medium for global

communication the world has ever seen. From our economies to our social lives,

there is not a single area of our civilization has not been touched by the Internet.

We can’t think of 21st Century without the internet. It is invincible now. Like

other innovations technological advancement revolutionized old devices and also

gave birth to new gadgets and all these devices are now internet ready. And most

of the time the only connectivity option they provide is WiFi for its quick and

hassle free nature. In the situation when mobile data (read 2G, 3G, 4G data) tariffs

are going higher but we have to (rather like to) remain connected to the internet

using all our devices such Mobile, PC, Laptop, Tab, Gaming Console & Smart

TV the WiFi comes as a boon to save us as this technology enable us to

simultaneously connect all these devices to the internet wirelessly using a single

internet connection. Thus, WiFi make web access affordable or cheaper. When

talking about cheap internet rates, We, Indians loves the concept of getting

anything at discounted rates or for FREE. So when any state government,

municipal corporation, contenders in political battle stir up the idea of providing

FREE WiFi targeting the gen Y who always like to remain online on the go but

presently upset with the increasing mobile data rates, gets elated to hear that Free

WiFi is coming for the rescue. The promise of providing free internet access via

WiFi is making much abuzz lately in Indian media specially after the new

government took over last year and promised us a “Digital India”. New state

government of Delhi has promised make the nation’s capital a giant hotspot and

in West Bengal the CM herself announced Kolkata as the “India’s First Wi-Fi

City”. It is true that WiFi does make internet cheaper by eliminating additional

connections but covering an entire city with WiFi connectivity is neither easy nor

cheap. It is time consuming and has some draw backs that I will be discussing

later. It’s definitely not the time to just give up your internet connection and wait

for the free signal to reach your devices. Rather if we can understand the

technology correctly I believe we will be able to utilize WiFi in our own homes

and enjoy its multiple benefits (Yes! More than saving the internet bills) without

investing much from our pockets. With this paper I am going to explain the very

concept of WiFi in a lucid language for the masses so that people new to this

technology could easily accept it and start experiencing or at least keep

knowledge about this multifaceted utility, the new Indian political phenomenon

called WiFi. I will try not to use too many jargons that may hamper your reading

experience and the ones that I must use for the sake of giving you a clear idea I

will be covering them all in the glossary section for you. So don’t worry and enjoy

reading.


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WHAT IS WiFi?

�

WiFi (or Wi-Fi) is a facility allowing computers, smartphones, or other devices

to connect to the Internet or communicate with one another wirelessly within a

particular area. It is wireless networking technology

that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-

speed Internet and network connections. A common

misconception is that the term Wi-Fi is short for

"wireless fidelity," however this is not the case. Wi-

Fi is simply a trademarked phrase that means IEEE

802.11. In computer terminology the word WiFi is

synonymous to “Wireless LAN “or “WLAN”.

The Wi-Fi Alliance defines Wi-Fi as any "wireless

local area network" (WLAN) product based on

the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards.

A BRIEF HISTORY

1980s

In 1985, the technology called 802.11 was made available for use due to a U.S.

Federal Communication Commission ruling, which released the three bands 900

MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5 GHz) of the radio spectrum for unlicensed use. These bands

are now used for nearly all wireless communication. Shortly thereafter the IEEE

(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the Wi-Fi Alliance

(originally called WECA or the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance) were

formed to help develop and regulate wireless technology worldwide.

1990s

When the IEEE was formed in 1990, they chose Vic Hayes, also popularly known

as the "Father of Wi-Fi," as its chairman. For the next ten years, Hayes helped

direct the development of new wireless protocols as well as market the

technology worldwide. His leadership and progressive thinking allowed the Wi-

Fi Alliance to spearhead the regulation and widespread use of wireless

technology.


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The first version of the wireless protocol's legacy is now obsolete and would be

considered dreadfully slow by today’s standards. It had a maximum data transfer

rate of 2 Mbps, or Megabits per second. Most applications created today would

not be able to operate efficiently at those speeds.

In 1999, the WiFi standard 802.11a and 802.11b were released, and for many

years were the standard for Wi-Fi networks. They both operated in the 2.4 GHz

range of the radio spectrum, but, unlike 802.11, they were able to transmit data at

a much higher rate. The 802.11a protocol could support data transmission up to

54 Mbps, but was designed for much shorter ranges at a much higher cost to

produce and maintain. On the other hand, 802.11b had a much lower cost and

much longer range than its counterpart, but worked at a much slower speed,

maxing out at 11 Mbps. Because both protocols operated in the unregulated 2.4

GHz bandwidth, they were susceptible to interference from other appliances that

used the same frequency such as microwave ovens, cordless phones and wireless

keyboards.

The Australian radio-astronomer John O'Sullivan developed a key patent used

in Wi-Fi as a by-product of a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research

Organisation (CSIRO). In 1992 and 1996, CSIRO obtained patents. Sullivan’s

invention for CSIRO greatly improved the signal quality of WiFi.

2000s

In 2003, 802.11g was introduced as the new standard. This new protocol was

designed to combine the best of the previous transmission standards—operating

at a maximum transfer rate of 54 Mbps while still allowing for the longer range

and lower costs. Most devices that incorporate the (g) technology are fully

backwards compatible, allowing the use of all three protocols in one device.

The adaptation of 802.11n, sometimes called Wireless-N, saw a huge leap

forward in the technology. With the ability to transfer data up to 300 Mbps and

the incorporation of multiple wireless signals and antennas (called MIMO

technology), people could surf the web even faster and with more stability. The

new protocol also allowed data to be transmitted on both the standard 2.4GHz

frequency as well as the less populated 5GHz which led to a stronger signal and

less interruption.

PRESENT DAY

Although still not that popular in India, the latest technology, 802.11ac, proved

to be another huge leap forward. With the advancements in dual-band

technology, data can now be transmitted across multiple signals and bandwidths


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allowing for maximum transmission rates of 1300 Mbps with extended ranges

and nearly uninterrupted transmission.

HOW WiFi WORKS? �

A wireless network uses radio waves, just like cell phones, televisions and radios

do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio

communication. Here's what happens:

1.� A wireless router which is physically connected to the internet via an

Ethernet cable or wireless USB dongle receives information from the

internet then translate or encode it into radio signals and transmit it through

its antenna.

2.� The wireless adapter of our devices then receive the radio signal through

its antenna and decode it.

The process also works in reverse with the wireless adapter translates data into a

radio signal and transmits it. The wireless router then receives the signal and

decodes it to send the information to the Internet. These process works

simultaneously and while we enjoy internet on the move cord free.


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WHAT IS WIRELESS ROUTER?

A wireless router is a device that wirelessly

performs the functions of a router that is to

determine the next network point to which

a packet or chunk of information should be

forwarded. It is used to provide access to

the Internet or a private computer network (a

group of interconnected computers to

exchange information). It can function in a

wired LAN (local area network), in a

wireless-only LAN (WLAN), or in a mixed

wired/wireless network, depending on the

manufacturer and model.

WHAT IS WIRELSESS RECEIVER/ADAPTER?

A wireless receiver or adapter is the transceivers

either built inside the device or can be plugged into

the device externally. Generally speaking most

laptop computers come with WiFi receivers inbuilt

whereas most desktop computer needs those

wireless transceivers that can be plugged into either

a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port or a PC card slot.

Whether Wireless Router or Wireless Adapter both can replicate each other’s role

if configured properly. �

�

WHAT ABOUT THE RANGE?

The Wi-Fi signal range depends on the frequency band, channel, radio power

output, antenna gain and antenna type as well as the modulation technique. Line-

of-sight is the thumbnail guide but reflection and refraction can have a significant

impact.


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An access point compliant with either 802.11b or 802.11g, using the stock

antenna might have a range of 100 m (330 ft). 802.11n or 802.11ac, however, can

more than double the range. As I have mentioned rage also relies on the

frequency band used so due to laws of physics, 5 GHz Wi-Fi connections are

more susceptible to obstructions such as concrete walls than are 2.4 GHz. As

higher bands travel faster but lower bands travel further. But 2.4 GHz is more

susceptible to noise inside the building Because 2.4 GHz radios are commonly

used in consumer gadgets such as microwaves, cordless phones & Bluetooth

devices thus causing interference with the WiFi signals running on the said band.

Confused about choosing the right band? No worries I will make the choice easier

for you in the next segment.

A general rule of thumb in home networking says that Wi-Fi routers operating on

the traditional 2.4 GHz band reach up to 150 feet (46 m) indoors and 300 feet (92

m) outdoors. Although the range can be increase using high grade antennas sold

separately in market such as an external semi parabolic antenna (15db gain) might

have a range over 20 miles. You can buy network extenders also.

Here are some home-grown methods or as we Indians say “jugaad” to increase

the WiFi range:


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2.4 GHz OR 5 GHz?

Well practically speaking 2.4 Ghz has the range and 5 Ghz has the speed & the

high bandwidth. When discussing about the frequencies always keep in mind the

following rule that is: as the frequency increases, range decreases.

Your choice of WiFi frequency depends primarily on 3 factors i.e.

1)�Your devices

2)�Your living environment

3)�What you do with your internet connection

If you still have lots of old 802.11b or 802.11g devices than I would suggest you

to stick to the 2.4 GHz as those devices may not support the 5 GHz band. Unless

off course you want to replace the old devices with new technology but it will

cost you pretty much.

If you have a small apartment or office then 5 GHz will be perfect for you but if

it is a big apartment or office building 2.4 GHz can save much as lesser amount

of routers, network extenders or boosters will be required thanks to 2.4 GHz’s

wider reach.

If you are very much into HD video streaming or gaming than 5 GHz can provide

you with that extra amount of bandwidth although it largely depends on the

quality of service of your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

WHAT ARE THE COST INVOLVED?

The only cost involved in turning your cable internet connection to a wireless

WiFi connection is the cost of buying a WiFi router. If your computer doesn’t

have an inbuilt WiFi receiver an external one must be brought to receive the

wireless signal.

Wireless routers are now a days costs very less and can be bought from any

Computer shop or e-commerce websites. The cost can vary differently depending

on factors like features, range, compatibility, brand etc.


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The cheapest router currently available in the market is from the brand Tenda.

This compact router boasts 150 Mbps link speed, an external antenna, a single

LAN and a single WAN port. The market price is around only ₹ 700.

If you have a bigger budget you can find your suitable router with features such

as 3G/4G dongle support, portable, battery back-up & higher range etc. The

costliest WiFi router available on a popular e-commerce website boasts 2334

Mbps link speed, 4 external antenna, 4 LAN Port and priced around ₹ 24,000. So

you can see with your needs the price will rise.

If you need an external wireless adapter it will cost you around anything between

₹ 300 to ₹ 5000 depending on the features and specifications.

WiFi enabled USB Dongles are also available in the market. They are usually

comes as network locked device. Which means you can use them only with the

service provider from which you have bought the device.

WHAT ABOUT THE SECURITY?

The main issue with wireless network security is its simplified access to the

network compared to traditional wired networks such as Ethernet. With wired

networking, one must either gain access to a building (physically connecting into

the internal network), or break through

an external firewall. To enable Wi-Fi,

one merely needs to be within the

range of the Wi-Fi network. An

attacker who has gained access to a

Wi-Fi network router can not only eat

up the stipulated bandwidth but also

initiate a DNS spoofing or other

similar attack against any other user of

the network by forging a response

before the queried DNS server has a chance to reply leading the users

unknowingly revealing their sensitive data to the intruder(s). When you use a

public Wi-Fi network, much of your Internet traffic travels in unencrypted form.

Unless you’re using an HTTPS website, people can view the web pages you’re

viewing and monitor your web browsing.


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Enabling wireless security reduces the chances of unauthorized access.

The most common wireless encryption-standard, Wired Equivalent

Privacy (WEP), has been shown to be easily breakable even when correctly

configured. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) encryption, which

became available in devices in 2003, aimed to solve this problem. Wi-Fi

Protected Access encryption (WPA2) is considered secure, provided a

strong passphrase is used.

A Wireless Router basically has some security options as follows:

•� Open (risky): Open Wi-Fi networks have no passphrase. You shouldn’t set

up an open Wi-Fi network.

•� WEP 64 (risky): The old WEP encryption standard is vulnerable and

shouldn’t be used. Its name, which stands for “Wired Equivalent Privacy,”

now seems like a joke.

•� WEP 128 (risky): WEP with a larger encryption key size isn’t really any

better.

•� WPA-PSK (TKIP): This is basically the standard WPA, or WPA1,

encryption. It’s been superseded and isn’t secure.

•� WPA-PSK (AES): This chooses the older WPA wireless protocol with the

more modern AES encryption. Devices that support AES will almost always

support WPA2, while devices that require WPA1 will almost never support

AES encryption. This option makes very little sense.

•� WPA2-PSK (TKIP): This uses the modern WPA2 standard with older TKIP

encryption. This isn’t secure, and is only a good idea if you have older devices

that can’t connect to a WPA2-PSK (AES) network.

•� WPA2-PSK (AES) (recommended): This is the most secure option. It uses

WPA2, the latest Wi-Fi encryption standard, and the latest AES encryption

protocol. You should be using this option. On devices with less confusing

interfaces, the option marked “WPA2″ or “WPA2-PSK” will probably

just use AES, as that’s a common-sense choice.

•� WPAWPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES) (recommended): This enables both WPA

and WPA2 with both TKIP and AES. This provides maximum compatibility

and security with any ancient devices you might have, but also ensures an

attacker can breach your network by cracking the lowest-common-

denominator encryption scheme. This TKIP+AES option may also be called

WPA2-PSK “mixed” mode.


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•� Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS): WPS is an optional feature that simplifies

and standardizes the process of configuring and securing a Wi-Fi network. It

configures the network name (SSID) and WPA2 security for the gateway and

client devices on a network and makes adding a new device to your network

as easy as pushing dedicated buttons on the routers and the client device or

entering a personal information number (PIN) or using Near Field

Communication (NFC) method or using USB Method, in which the user uses

a USB flash drive to transfer data between the new client device and the

network's access point.

The WPS method of connecting was originally made for novice users who

have little or no knowledge about wireless security. It helps them to connect

to the wireless network right out of the box. But using WPS is riskier because

a remote attacker may recover the WPS PIN in a few hours with a brute-force

attack and, with the WPS PIN, the network's WPA/WPA2 pre-shared key

leading to hijacking your wireless network. Hence using WPS is generally

not recommended.

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH RISKS?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the "anxiety and

speculation" regarding electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and their alleged effects on

public health.

In response to public concern, the WHO established

the International EMF Project in 1996 to assess the

scientific evidence of possible health effects of EMF

in the frequency range from 0 to 300 GHz. They

have stated that although extensive research has

been conducted into possible health effects of

exposure to many parts of the frequency spectrum,

all reviews conducted so far have indicated that, as

long as exposures are below the limits

recommended in the ICNIRP (1998) EMF

guidelines, which cover the full frequency range

from 0–300 GHz, such exposures do not produce

any known adverse health effect.


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The official stance of the British Health Protection Agency is that “[T]here is no

consistent evidence to date that WiFi and WLANs adversely affect the health of

the general population”, but also that “...it is a sensible precautionary

approach...to keep the situation under ongoing review...”.They also believe that

“...radio frequency (RF) exposures from WiFi are likely to be lower than those

from mobile phones.” It also saw “...no reason why schools and others should not

use WiFi equipment. There reports reveal that exposure to Wi-Fi for a year results

in the "same amount of radiation from a 20-minute mobile phone call”

The World Health Organization (WHO) says "there is no risk from low level,

long-term exposure to Wi-Fi networks".

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING WIFI?

•� Global Accessibility: Wi-Fi allows users to stay connected in a multitude of

different places including the office, home, coffee shop down the street, or hotel

on the other side of the country. Most of the electronic devices sold today are Wi-

Fi capable, and the greatest part is that Wi-Fi technology has a global standard.

Unlike cell phones, you can connect to a network anywhere in the world with a

Wi-Fi enabled device, allowing for widespread coverage.

•� Productivity: Users connected to a wireless network can maintain a nearly

constant affiliation with their desired network as they move from place to place.

For a business, this implies that an employee can potentially be more productive

as his or her work can be accomplished from any convenient location. It enhance

the ability of a company to perform at the highest possible level.

•� Cost Effective: The investment of wireless network hardware is reasonable,

especially in comparison to wired cables that are difficult to install and manage.

Wi-Fi allows businesses to quickly install the technology anywhere in their

facility and build a secure network that can support all of their employees. Wi-Fi

is easy to expand and can take on additional users with existing equipment, unlike

wired cables which require additional wiring and installation.

•� Convenience: The wireless nature of such networks allows users to access

network resources from nearly any convenient location within their primary

networking environment (a home or office). With the increasing saturation of

laptops and handheld type devices, this is particularly relevant.


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•� Mobility: With the emergence of public wireless networks, users can access the

internet even outside their normal work environment. Most chain coffee shops,

for example, offer their customers a wireless connection to the internet at little or

no cost.

•� Easy Deployment & Expandability: Initial setup of an infrastructure-based

wireless network requires little more than a single access point. Wired networks,

on the other hand, have the additional cost and complexity of actual physical

cables being run to numerous locations (which can even be impossible for hard-

to-reach locations within a building). Wireless networks can serve a suddenly-

increased number of clients with the existing equipment. In a wired network,

additional clients would require additional wiring.

•� No Licensing: WiFi uses unlicensed radio spectrum and does not require

regulatory approval for individual deployers.

ON THE FLIPSIDE

•� Security: As I have discussed earlier it is rather easy to detect and gain

access to a wireless internet connection. To combat this consideration,

wireless network users may choose to utilize some of the various

encryption technologies available. Some of the more commonly utilized

encryption methods, however, are known to have weaknesses that a

dedicated adversary can compromise. Free access points can be used by

the malicious to anonymous to initiate an attack that would be extremely

difficult to track beyond the owner of the access point.

•� Range: The typical range of a common 802.11n network with standard

equipment is on the order of 46m (150ft) indoors and 92m (300ft) outdoors.

While sufficient for a typical home, it will be insufficient in a larger

structure. To obtain additional range, repeaters or additional access points

will have to be purchased. Costs for these items can add up quickly.

•� Reliability: Like any radio frequency transmission, wireless networking

signals are subject to a wide variety of interference, as well as complex


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propagation effects that are beyond the control of the network

administrator.

•� Inter-Operability Problem: Inter-operability issues between brands or

deviations can cause limited connection or lower output speeds. WiFi has

evolved much. With several standards presents some newer technology

may not work correctly with the older devices.

OTHER USAGE

Apart from connecting you wirelessly to the internet you can also do pretty handy

things with WiFi technology.

1.� Sharing files between PCs & other devices: Sharing files over the Wi-

Fi network (or an ad-hoc wireless network) is certainly one of the easiest

and fastest ways to get files from one computer or smart device to

another. Specially designed applications such as Dropbox & mHotspot

(For PCs) & Xender (For Android & iOS) can do this for you.

2.� Sharing your device’s internet connection: Yes that’s right if you don’t

have a WiFi router but has a WiFi enabled laptop or smartphone you can

share its internet connection by creating a virtual WiFi hotspot (ad-hoc

wireless network). Most Android smartphone are now comes with portable

hotspot option and you can configure your WiFi enabled Laptop or desktop

according to the OS to share its internet with other devices. There are

specific application available for this job such as mHotspot & Connectify

for Windows PC.

3. Turn Your Smartphone into a Remote Control: If all the computers in

your house are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, you can easily

connect your smartphone to the same network and control them. With apps

like Remote for iPhone to control iTunes, Gmote for Android to control

your Windows, Linux or Mac PC & RD Client by Windows to control

Windows PC you don't have to get up from your couch for anything

anymore.

You can also use your PC to control your Smartphones with apps available

on the internet.

4. Send Documents to Your Printer from Any Computer or Smartphone:

There's no reason to have five different printers in your house just so you


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can print in any room. Instead of constantly plugging and unplugging the

printer from your laptop, you can print wirelessly from any computer. We

can even print files directly from our smartphones with the help of

application such as Dropbox (available for virtually any OS).

5.� Wirelessly Transfer Photos from Your Digital Camera: If you have no

time to plug in your SD card into your PC's card reader to transfer photos

(or if your computer doesn't have a card reader) you want them to be

uploaded to server fast, then built in WiFi or Eye-Fi wireless SD card

supported Digital Camera is the perfect companion for you. If your Digital

Camera supports either WiFi or Eye-Fi you never even need to take the SD

card out of your camera whenever it detects a compatible wireless network,

it will transfer photos right over for you. And, if you want, you can even

have it automatically upload photos to sites like Flickr, Facebook, and

Picasa.

6. Stream Movies or Music to Any Smart TV in the House: With the

invention of Smart TVs the face of home entertainment has changed. We

can now stream our favourite show on our Smart TVs directly from the

internet and with the help of a common WiFi network we can stream any

file stored on our devices such as laptops, gaming consoles or smartphones.

These are just few basic examples of what WiFi technology can do. With time

we are witnessing may more application of WiFi. Actually the internet is full of

tutorial videos where we can learn more about the utilization of WiFi. The launch

of WiFi remote control Air Condition (AC) system by Videocon in India earlier

this year proves that this country is also starting experimenting with the limitless

possibilities of WiFi technology.

WIFI – Unlimited Possibilities


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Free WiFi Enabled Cities in India: A Reality Check

With the government looking excited with free public Wi-Fi hotspots—it recently

announced that it will roll out the ambitious project as the part of “ Digital India”

programme at select public places in top 25 cities with a population of over 10

lakh. It has also separately identified 25 archaeological monuments to provide

free Wi-Fi access —there’s a lot of buzz and excitement around connectivity. Not

only the centre, the Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government in Delhi fought its

political battle over many agendas including the one to turn Delhi into a WiFi city

and the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s announcement of Kolkata going

WiFi shows the importance of internet access in today’s ultra-modern world.

The time may be right for public Wi-Fi to scale up in India, especially at a time

when the government wants to encourage higher levels of data usage in public

places, but is it really a viable project? Or is it just an attempt to merely show

India has arrived on the global stage? Above all, is it actually ‘free’?

Well let’s shade some light on various aspects of a city-wide WiFi project.


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The Cost

I found so many people going bananas with the idea of getting “free WiFi”. Let’s

be frank. It’s not free at all. A wireless router costs money. The cabling to that

router costs money. The data access to that router costs money. The electricity

needed to run it costs money. The weather-proof housing that it’s enclosed within

costs money. Installing it costs money. Maintaining it costs money. So ask

yourself who is going to pay for all these? The answer is simple it’s you, the tax

payer.

As per PK Purwar, chairman and managing director of the state-owned

telecommunications service provider MTNL, there is no such thing as free Wi-

Fi, for it’s either the user or the government that is bearing the expenses for the

data services. “In certain cases, the service provider gives free usage for a short

period of time, but later charges some money for it,” added Purwar in an interview

with financialexpress.com.

In fact this business model has been or is going to be implemented on almost all

free public WiFi hotspots available in the country or restrict the use to certain

websites. As providing something free on an unlimited basis without any

condition will only incur an unnecessary hefty bill or a congested network for any

government organization.

Purwar said “At airports, too, free Wi-Fi has been possible because the airport

administration is footing the bill for it, as no provider will give such services for

free. It’s a huge expense.” At the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New

Delhi and the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad—for which Tata

DOCOMO inked exclusive agreements with GMR Airports—passengers can

access free Wi-Fi service for 45 minutes, following which they will have to pay

for the service online to continue using Wi-Fi.

Remember,

“Nothing is free. Those who tell you differently are trying to sell you something.”


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Performance

Technically, the basic problem with large Wi-Fi circles is of traffic and how it

can be managed. When a big area is Wi-Fi-enabled, the number of users increases,

especially in the peak hours (after college or office hours) thus reducing the

browsing speeds. Yes it can be solved by putting up additional access nodes. An

access node, or Base Transceiver Station (BTS) provides access to 2,000 people.

But will the government care if that favourite video of yours start buffering or

gets loaded in low quality on a free public network you are hooked in with your

device?

Deployment

The public WiFi systems are usually installed only in public places or are

available parallel to important roads. So if you thinking sitting in your home

somewhere amidst the city waiting for that free signal to encompass your device,

you may be wasting your time.

Security

WiFi is a pretty widely known and used standard. It’s not all that secure if you

doesn’t know how to secure it, especially the public ones. We do our banking

online. We share our pictures online. We even do shopping online. This is very

private data that we don’t want to broadcast to the world. Security is of paramount

importance, but because setting up a secure encryption key is so “difficult” or

“inconvenient”, many public WiFi networks are run wide open, ready for anyone

to eavesdrop on our most intimate conversations.

Location Privacy

Are you the kind of person that turns off the geo-tagging feature of your phone’s

camera to help maintain your privacy? Do you turn off your GPS because you

don’t want websites and who knows who else to know where you

are? Unfortunately that’s not going to do it! Cell towers have been used since

long before smartphones were around to triangulate our “rough” positions. Now

the coming of Public WiFi hotspots “they” know which WiFi node you’re

connected to, your location is much more accurate than trying to figure that out

from cellular data. One can argue that this should be taken as a security feature

as in emergency this will certainly help the police or medics to locate someone


18

easily. I respect and support this opinion. But still it’s my location, it’s my

movement – I have a right to privacy. These data can also be used against me by

any anti-social elements. Who knows?

Too much seriousness? Now here comes the funny part directly from a story by

Reuters.

Maintenance: The Monkey Gate

While India is keen to spread the information revolution to its provinces, the

problems it faces are a holdover from the past - electricity shortages, badly

planned, jam-packed cities, and monkeys.

The clash between the old world and the new is sharply in focus in the crowded

3,000-year-old holy city of Varanasi, where many devout Hindus come to die in

the belief that doing so will give them salvation. Varanasi is also home to

hundreds of macaque monkeys that live in its temples and are fed and venerated

by devotees.

But the food seemed to be not enough as the monkeys also feast on the fibre-optic

cables that are strung along the banks of the Ganges River to deploy public WiFi

in the city.


19

"We cannot move the temples from here. We cannot modify anything here,

everything is built up. The monkeys, they destroy all the wires and eat all the

wires," said communications engineer A.P. Srivastava

Srivastava, who oversees the expansion of new connections in the local district,

said his team had to replace the riverside cables when the monkeys chewed them

up less than two months after they were installed.

He said his team is now looking for alternatives, but there are few to be found.

The city of over 2 million people is impossibly crowded and laying underground

cable is out of the question. Chasing away or trapping the monkeys will outrage

residents and temple-goers.

A shortage of electricity is further complicating efforts to set up stable Wi-Fi in

public places - daily power cuts can last for hours during the sweltering summer

in Varanasi and across much of India reports Reuters.

The reason of sharing this report by Reuters is to point out the trivial looking

issues that actually may end up disrupting the dream project of making Indian

cities WiFi enabled. However India with its unique socio-economic issues and

environment trying to go digital definitely deserve a shout out for its effort. The

public WiFi can raise lot of questions but one cannot deny this Indian initiative

to efface the “Digital Divide”. Forget about gaming or that viral music video, in

a situation when no other network is available but she needs a vital information

that can help her get justice or he needs to send an email that can save his job, if

the public WiFi can deliver at that moment, let it be it a “free for 45 minutes”

wonder or a restricted access point, it deserves a crucial spot in our society, in our

lives. We welcome Public WiFi.


20

CONCLUSION

Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without the internet. The

internet changed the world and revolutionised the way we live. Suddenly the

world could be accessed at the touch of a button. Gone were the days when we

were waiting for information and doing hours of research at the local library. WiFi

made internet more convenient to use. It allowed internet access while traveling

or while living in remote locations. The WiFi revolution made life easier for

businesses, students and for everyone who use the internet. WiFi truly is the

future of mobile data as the cellular data services like 3G & 4G is still costly

especially in developing countries, whereas WiFi is cheap or even free. The data,

collected by the world’s largest commercial Wi-Fi provider iPass, shows there

will be over 340 million Wi-Fi signals or one signal for every 20 people on Earth

by 2018. The study shows that Europe is the continental leader in Wi-Fi with half

of the world’s hotspots but it will be soon surpassed by Asia. India’s plan to

deploy public WiFi in 2500 cities and towns across the country over three

years will definitely serve the purpose. With the bombshell news coming that

foreign cellular operators started to utilize WiFi for calling for better indoor

coverage indicates that Wi-Fi had truly arrived and should now be considered a

true partner and complement to traditional cellular technology. As internet

becoming our necessity day by day like any other amenities available in your

nearby restaurant, coffee shop or sports venue will expect WiFi just to be there.

Hope I am able to answer all the questions or doubts that may have popped-up in

you minds regarding WiFi after reading newspapers or watching news Now when

you have all the basics about WiFi technology I am sure you will surely going to

give it a try. And why not? The benefits and the possibilities of this technology

are endless as I have discussed. You too deserve to explore the world of WiFi.


21

GLOSSARY

AES: The Advanced Encryption

Standard (AES), also referenced

as Rijndae (its original name), is a

specification for the encryption of

electronic data established by the

U.S. National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) in 2001.

BTS: A base transceiver station (BTS) is

a piece of equipment that

facilitates wireless communication

between user equipment (UE) and a

network. UEs are devices like mobile

phones (handsets), WLL phones, and

computers with wireless

Internet connectivity. The network can be

that of any of the wireless communication

technologies like GSM, CDMA, wireless

local loop, Wi-Fi, WiMAX or other wide

area network (WAN) technology.

dB: The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic

unit used to express the ratio between two

values of a physical quantity,

often power or intensity.

DNS: Short for Domain Name System (or

Service or Server), an Internet service that

translates domain names into IP addresses.

Because domain names are alphabetic,

they're easier to remember. The Internet

however, is really based on IP addresses.

DNS Spoofing: DNS

spoofing (or DNS cache poisoning) is a

computer hacking attack, where data traffic

is diverted to the attacker's computer (or

any other computer).

Extenders: A wireless repeater (also

called wireless range extender) takes an

existing signal from a wireless router or

wireless access point and rebroadcasts it to

create a second network.

Eye-Fi: Eye-Fi is a company based in

Mountain View, California that produces

SD memory cards and SDHC cards with

Wi-Fi capabilities. Using an Eye-Fi card

inside a digital camera, one can wirelessly

and automatically upload digital photos to a

local computer or a mobile device such as a

smartphone or tablet.

Fibre-optic: A technology that uses glass

(or plastic) threads (fibres) to transmit data.

A fibre optic cable consists of a bundle of

glass threads, each of which is capable of

transmitting messages modulated onto light

waves.

Firewall: A firewall is a network security

system, either hardware or software based,

that controls incoming and outgoing

network traffic based on a set of rules.

GBPS: Gigabits Per Second

Geo-tagging: Geo-tagging is the process

of adding geographical information to

various media in the form of metadata.

GHz: Gigahertz (GHz), a unit of frequency

Hot-spot: A hotspot is a physical location

that offers Internet access over a wireless

local area network (WLAN) through the

use of a router connected to a link to an

Internet service provider.

HTTPS: HTTPS is a communications

protocol for secure communication over

a computer network

IEEE: The Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is

a professional association headquartered in

New York. The IEEE is best known for

developing standards for the computer and

electronics industry


22

LAN: A local area network (LAN) is a

computer network that interconnects

computers within a limited area such as a

home, school, computer laboratory, or

office building, using network media.

MBPS: Megabits Per Second

MIMO: MIMO (multiple input, multiple

output) is an antenna technology for

wireless communications in which multiple

antennas are used at both the source

(transmitter) and the destination (receiver).

The antennas at each end of the

communications circuit are combined to

minimize errors and optimize data speed.

NFC: Near field communication (NFC) is

a set of ideas and technology that enables

smartphones and other devices to establish

radio communication with each other by

touching the devices together or bringing

them into proximity to a distance of

typically 10 cm (3.9 in) or less.

Parabolic Antenna: A parabolic

antenna is an antenna that uses a

parabolic reflector, a curved surface with

the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to

direct the radio waves. The most common

form is shaped like a dish and is popularly

called a dish antenna or parabolic dish.

Smart TV: A smart TV, sometimes

referred to as connected TV or hybrid TV,

is a television set or set-top box with

integrated Internet and Web 2.0 features,

and is an example of technological

convergence between computers

and television sets and set-top boxes.

SSID: Service Set Identifier (SSID) is the

name assigned to a Wi-Fi (wireless)

network. All devices in the network must

use this case-sensitive name to

communicate over Wi-Fi, which is a text

string up to 32 bytes long.

TKIP: Temporal Key Integrity

Protocol or TKIP /tiːˈkɪp/ was a stopgap

security protocol used in the IEEE 802.11

wireless networking standard. TKIP was

designed by the IEEE 802.11i task group

and the Wi-Fi Alliance as an interim

solution to replace WEP without requiring

the replacement of legacy hardware.

Triangulation: a method of finding a

distance or location by measuring the

distance between two points whose exact

location is known and then measuring the

angles between each point and a third

unknown point

WAN: A wide area network (WAN) is a

network that covers a broad area (i.e., any

telecommunications network that links

across metropolitan, regional, national or

international boundaries) using leased

telecommunication lines.

WI-FI Alliance: Wi-Fi Alliance is a non-

profit organization that promotes Wi-

Fi technology and certifies Wi-Fi products

if they conform to certain standards

of interoperability. However the lack of

certification does not necessarily imply a

device is incompatible with Wi-Fi devices.

Wifi Channel: WiFi works through certain

channels to maintain a consistent flow of

packets. At high density Wi-Fi-points

operating in the same or adjacent channels,

they can interfere with each other. This

affects the quality of the connection. This

problem is common in apartment buildings,

where many residents are using this

technology.


23

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d

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ecibel

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ye-Fi

7.� http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G

eotagging

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otspot_(Wi-Fi)

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TTPS

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col

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MO

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24

�log/101-benefits-of-wi-fi-

technology

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or-both/

32.�http://www.independent.co.uk

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33.�http://www.merriam-

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ulation

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lopedia/term/51942/ssid

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om/technology/web-a-

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revolution-the-history-of-

wifi.html

37.�http://www.webopedia.com/T

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ch?v=ko83Tq0NEH8

(Originally Submitted on 18th May 2015)

�

Education

WiFi For Everyone