Wireless Internet - 802.11g versus 802.11b

Thanks to profundo's help, I just found out that there are hotspots in Munich to hook up to the internet for (in many cases) free.

But, I have an 802.11b card, and here it says that the system runs on 802.11g technology.

Are they compatible or do I need to buy a new 802.11g card in order to access the internet via the hotspots?

Thanks!

No a b standard card will work on a g standard network, you just get a slower link. But if other poeple are using a g standard then you come onto the network they will slow down too as a result of you...but no matter... so no need to upgrade your card.

It also depends on technology, like with g now, you can do higher levels of data encryption over the WLAN point and encrypted user authentication, but for hotspots I suppose they do not use these additional features.

I just received Arcor internet. I have 802.11b wireless cards but will I see any noticable difference if I get 802.11g wireless cards ? I'm assuming it depends on the speed of my actual internet coming to my house, right?

Can someone explain this all to me? Perhaps there's a tool to detect the speed of the internet coming to my house? Or do I not need this?

Thanks in advance!

Topics merged by admin

It is unlikely to make any difference to the speed of your internet, because 802.11b is already 11mbps, which is most likely faster than your internet connection anyway.

However, you would notice a big difference if transferring files from one PC to the other. Also, if you have low signal strength, you might find g better.