Field Guide to Wireless LANs for Administrators and Power Users, A

Wireless LANs in Public Places

This category of WLAN deployment is the least well-defined, and has the most potential to change the way we use networks in our everyday life. As I write this, I am sitting in a coffee shop accessing the Internet and my corporate IPsec-based VPN via a WLAN. Many are attempting to get WLANs deployed in as many public spaces as possible, hopefully to garner revenue from such deployments. Currently, WLANs may be found in coffee shops and other restaurants, airport gate waiting areas, bookstores, and other places. One of these “other places” in which WLAN access will soon be available is on airplanes. Boeing has already tested a flying WLAN, with satellite-based Internet connectivity. In fact, the service has been tested ...