How does a builder prepare a home for wireless technology? Ironically, it's by wiring the heck out of it?

Remember those guys who used to pull rabbits out of hats? As children, we called them magicians. As we got older, we grew more skeptical. We now call these performers illusionists.

Tech builders who equip new homes for wireless technology access can also aptly be called illusionists. Sure, everything looks wireless outside the walls. But that wireless environment is made possible by an infrastructure of structured wiring within the walls. And ironically, the more thorough the structured wiring infrastructure the builder provides, the better equipped the homeowner will be for wireless access.

The demand for wireless access is big these days. Adults are increasingly taking their work home, or wanting to access the office remotely. And children are doing an increasingly larger share of their homework on the home computer, or wanting to access audio, video and instant messaging from anywhere in the house. Homeowners therefore like the idea of being able to use laptops to access the Internet throughout the home, without being tied to wires.

On-Q Home national program manager Avi Rosenthal agrees that wireless access is largely used for computer networking or broadband sharing. "Some other uses are distribution of audio and even some video via wireless cameras. All of these technologies are becoming more popular," says Rosenthal.

Consumer interest in wireless access is no fad, according to Andrew Finkel, sales manager for Wesminister, Md.-based integrator Diversified Technologies. "The demand for wireless access in the home is definitely on the rise," says Finkel. "First of all, the pricing at the store level has come way down. Plus people are getting used to having wireless access at work and from visiting different offices. There is a higher awareness of it know."

Behind the Curtain

Knowing is only half the battle for homebuilders. Once they are aware that wireless access is a marketable amenity in new homes, they need to know how to provide it. And the learning process is well worth the builder's while. Rosenthal says he has seen builders mark up prices for providing wireless anywhere from 10 percent to 100 percent.

"The first thing that a builder needs to do is find a 'technology partner,'" says Rosenthal. "Typically, this is an integrator who is well-established, certified and has the right experience. HTI+ certification is a good way to judge if the integrator is serious about the industry. Look to your builder association. Typically, the best integrators are involved with the associations as well."

Finkel's company serves as technology partners for builders. One piece of advice he offers is to wire the heck out of homes. "The bottom line is the more wiring they provide, the better the wireless network will be for the homeowner," says Finkel. "Because of steel beams and because of building materials that can create dead spots [areas that suffer from interference, blocked signals, or are too far from the antenna] the more wiring you have, the easier it is to implement repeaters or multiple wireless access points."

Rosenthal explains that a wireless access point "provides a connection from a wired infrastructure to a wireless one." He calls it the "point at which the signal leaves the wire and enters the air. It is not purely 'wireless' in itself, because it needs a physical connection to the infrastructure to gain access to the network. It is the equivalent of a radio antenna, the point at which the radio signal leaves the wire and enters the air."

The optimum place for a wireless access point (WAP) is high and centrally located, according to Rosenthal. "It is best to run a single Cat 5e to the highest and most centrally located point in the home," he says. "This is typically the stairwell. From here the WAP will be able to serve the majority of the home. If the home is under 3,000 square feet, then the whole home will be served."

Ideally, however, multiple wireless access points would be used. When deciding where to create access points, it's best not to focus on range. "Range as quoted by manufacturers is theoretical in a perfect lab setting," says Rosenthal. "A lot of people will get a wireless access point and have great reception—but not on the second and third floor. You may need an access point on every floor. It falls down kind of like water falling down."

In his own work, Finkel recommends taking it a step further. "They should really put structured wiring in every room in the house, because it's very difficult to predict what it will be like when the walls go up. The idea is if you wire every room and later you discover that there are second floor areas that without a repeater you can't get to, you're covered." A repeater, which Finkel refers to, will take in a signal, amplify it and send it out again in order to extend the range of the signal.

To builders, Rosenthal emphasizes that a strong integrator partner can pay dividends. "Again, a good 'technology partner' can help with [decisions about where to place WAPs]," he says. "The integrator should meet with the homebuyer and discuss their needs and design the right system for them. This opportunity gives the homebuilder a great way to increase his bottom line by selling technology upgrades, which are highly sought after by homebuyers today."

what's the frequency?

Builders should know about four popular wireless networking standards.

• 802.11b This is a popular and cost-effective option. It uses the 2.4GHz radio spectrum and can transmit data at up to 11Mbps inside a 100-foot range.
• 802.11a This runs at a less-populated frequency (5.15GHz to 5.35GHz) than 802.11b so it hits less interference. Its bandwidth is said to reach 54Mbps. But actual throughput is said to be closer to 22Mbps. It does a good job of transferring high-quality digital audio and video or other large files across the network, as well as for sharing a broadband connection. 802.11b and 802.11are incompatible. Dual-band equipment is currently available, which makes it possible to connect at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, but it's expensive.
• 802.11g This has great throughput at around 22Mbps and backward compatibility with 802.11b. The only drawback is the fact that it uses a crowded slice of spectrum. In some cases, 802.11a makes more sense in locattions populated with devices that share the 2.4GHz spectrum, such as cordless phones and microwaves.
• Bluetooth You may have heard a buzz about Bluetooth. For now, it's just buzz. It's range is just a couple dozen feet.

Resource Box

Belkin Corp
310-604-2482
www.belkin.com

D-Link
714-885-6000
www.dlink.com

Iogear
949-453-8782
www.iogear.com

Linksys
800-LINKSYS
www.linksys.com

Motorola
215-323-0245
www.motorola.com/broadband

NETGEAR Inc.
408-907-8000
www.netgear.com

On-Q Home
717-702-2532
www.onqhome.com

SMC
949-679-8111
www.smc.com