Wireless Cable Modems

Wireless cable modems make life and business online easier and more convenient. Still, the technology is limited by lack of compatibility between computer equipment.

Broadband Wireless Magazine reports, “Wireless is an obvious choice for bridging the gaps of cable modem and DSL deployments, but wireless presents a new set of issues – lack of standardization, higher costs, and incompatibilities with existing equipment. For example, a cable modem service provider that wants to provide service via wireless must qualify a completely different set of equipment, deploy it, maintain it, monitor it, spare for failures, etc. Wouldn’t life be simple if cable modems and DSL modems could simply be used with a wireless adapter?”

Even with drawbacks and limitations, wireless cable modems allow for people to connect quicker than ever before. TechNews reports, “The number of locations with WiFi service - or "hot spots" - quadrupled last year, to just under 4,000 nationwide, according to the research firm Instat/MDR. At home, a WiFi setup can be quite simple. A typical rig consists of a $100-or-less access point, plus under-$50 receivers in each computer. The access point takes a broadband or dial-up Internet connection and shares it with any authorized computer within range.”

Just like any cable modem, wireless cable modems only provide connectivity, not security. The fact that a user is on-line 24/7 makes his computer system more exposed to attacks of various sorts. It’s important for cable users to get firewall installed.

Understanding cable modem signals are important, mostly so that when slow-downs in the wireless cable occur, the user doesn’t give up, but rather, understands what might be happening. Speedguide.net has a good description of the cable modem signals: