The wireless home networks standards war. (Feature Home Networking).

You've got a few computers. You've got broadband Internet access. Now you want to pull everything together with a wireless network so you can share the wealth of bandwidth (not to mention printers and files) without having to run cables all over the place.

Once scarce, extremely expensive, and tough to configure, home wireless networking products are becoming more plentiful, affordable, and consumer-friendly. With one of these setups, your small business or home can have a wireless network up and running in next to no time, but it won't be dirt cheap: expect to pay $1500 to $2000 and up for the equipment to link two PCs to each other and the Internet. But it's a lot easier than tearing up walls to string Ethernet cable; and for notebook users, having the freedom to move around in a home or small office can be worth a lot.

There are basically two competing standards on the world stage -- HomeRF and 802.11b, also known as Wi-Fi.

Until now, HomeRF has been tipped to be the more popular, largely because 802.11b did not become widely available outside the enterprise market until late last year. 802.11b is rapidly catching up, however, and it dominates the latest round of products.

Why the deluge of new 802.11b offerings? Probably the biggest reason is their 11Mbps speed, roughly equal to that of older, wired 10Mbps Ethernet networks. In contrast, HomeRF currently runs at just 1.6Mbps, although a next-generation HomeRF protocol that will support speeds of up to 10Mbps is in the works. Faster HomeRF chips may attract more vendors to the standard but, right now, Intel and Proxim are the only suppliers of complete HomeRF systems -- although Intel changed camps late March, saying future products would support 802.11b. It was reported that Intel was worried that a faster version of HomeRF would not be available this year.

For Australians, the choice narrows dramatically because of the size of our market. A small market for home networking products, compared to the US, for example, means that it takes much longer for products to reach a critical mass -- the point where wide uptake of products drives down prices -- so vendors are more likely to stick to one technology, and the overriding preference seems to be 802.11b. "For Australia, it makes sense to get behind something that will have the greatest application," said David Bolt, Intel's local MD, commenting on the company's decision to focus on 802.11b in this country.

Other advantages of 802.11b include a greater range than HomeRF -- which promises to cover a `typical' home and yard -- and a planned upgrade path to 54Mbps (although you'll likely need new hardware when that version arrives). Finally, 802.11b enjoys widespread use outside the home. Since numerous enterprises have 802.11b wireless networks, their employees already have PC cards for their notebooks. Several companies around the world have also begun to offer subscription-based 802.11b Internet access in public spaces such as airports and hotel lobbies.