Considerations for a small business WLAN, part 5: The cost of a wireless network

Considerations for a small business WLAN, part 5: The cost of a wireless network

How much does a wireless network cost?

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Read part 4: The range of wireless networks

Costs vary, depending on the vendor and what kind of features and service and support you want. Consumer devices, which may not be the best bet for a company since they may not offer technologies that allow for RF management and tracking, are priced as low as $29 for a wireless card for your notebook and $59 for a wireless AP. Put them together, plug the AP into your wired network or cable or DSL modem and you have an instant wireless network. Systems designed for business applications, though can run five or ten times more than those prices, simply because they are engineered for more RF management, higher reliability, and more security. Basically, you can set up a reliable 10-user business-class wireless network for under $1,000.

Go on to part 6: Additional software

This was first published in March 2004

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