Cool, cheap, wireless home networks

PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY

Households in India usually have a single internet connection, meaning there could be only one web surfer at a time.

But with advanced wireless home networking solutions that do not cost a bomb, homes can now boast of not just multiple internet access, but a lot more: you can download and play MP3 on the home music system (not on that tiny PC speakers) in one room, someone else can watch online movies on TV (and not the 14-inch PC monitor) in another, yet another person can play games or transmit images or just check the security inside your home_simultaneously.

All it takes is a broadband router and some accessories to bind the family to the wireless world, the cost of which comes to around Rs 30,000.

Says Jagdish Mahapatra, business development manager, Cisco Systems, India and Saarc, "Contrary to the common belief, wireless home networking is not just for the high income group. We have kept our prices reasonable. Every middle income household can enjoy the benefits of wi-fi now."

From the corporate point of view, an employee in a wi-fi networked home will mean more productive work. The employee can access his official mail on his laptop, even if another member of his family is already using the broadband connection.

"Broadband connections are cheaper and very popular now. Most of the consumer durables such as television sets and music systems come wi-fi enabled. The number of wi-fi capable household equipment will grow tenfold in the coming two years," he said.

Linksys, a division of the US-based internetworking giant Cisco Systems, has recently launched a range of wired and wireless networking products in India.

The products include wireless-B and wireless-G LAN equipment, broadband routers, network adapters, switches, print servers as well gaming adapters. Its wireless gaming adapter and digital media adapter will allow home users to communicate between PCs and home entertainment systems where pictures and music files can be shared seamlessly.

A Linksys wireless broadband router will cost Rs 4,500 and a media adapter that will allow you to directly play online music and movies on your music system and TV will cost Rs 12,000.

D-Link Systems (India) Ltd general manager, sales, Tushar Sighat said, "Home networking has a great potential. With more homes coming under broadband cover, people are now aware of the windows of opportunities that the wireless technology throws open."

"Many companies, including a number of organised players, are now offering broadband. In the very near future, households will get internet service through cable at costs as cheap as Rs 300 a month for unlimited use. If the household has a broadband connection, a single broadband router can make the entire home connected," he said.

Sighat says applications of this technology are numerous: "You can install a wireless IP camera inside your house. You reach you office, open your PC, connect it to the Net and type the IP address of the camera. You will be able to see what happens in the house."

D-Link's DCS-2100+ wireless internet camera is a surveillance system that connects wirelessly to the user's 802.11b network. The camera is a standalone system with a built-in CPU and web server.

This provides a low-cost solution capable of solving security and home and office monitoring needs, the company said. The camera, which transmits live video images over the internet, can be accessed remotely and controlled from any PC or notebook computer over the Internet from anywhere in the world.

"Another application is in multimedia. We have a media gateway, DSM-320 wireless media player. It unites the user network with the user's home entertainment centre, allowing to share and access digital media, whether it is music, videos, or photos," Tushar said.

The audio and video jacks in the equipment can be plugged directly into a TV letting the user access digital media content stored on his PC, browse his music files, watch his videos and display his photos.

"Home networking is rather a new concept, but it is catching up fast and companies in this segment have a huge market here," Tushar said.

SOME VENDOR CONTACTS:
D-Link: 022 5690 2210
Linksys: 022-2653 3430