Wireless Communications and Technologies

Without a doubt one of the biggest advancement in telecommunications over the recent years has been in Wireless technology.

There are numerous wireless devices cell phones, GPS systems, hand held PDA's and much more. Hand is hand with these mobile devices has come the ever expanding growth of WIFI.

WIFI is where you access the internet from a modem and not need to be connected to a landline. The are some major benefits of this, and there can potentially be some drawbacks.

The advantages are mainly due to increased convenience, being able to access to the internet virtually anywhere these days. Most Hotels have WIFI access in the rooms, and even restaurants and some cities have free WIFI in the UK.

However does this extra convenience come at a cost?

Some say that it is potentially harmful to our health, where are others governing bodies claim the risk to health are neglegeable. The main concern from opposing parties to WIFI is that the signal produces radiation.

Apparently the levels are low and at this stage there is no reason for alarm, however what does concern me is that there is no long term evidence that WIFI radiation is not harmful, as we simply do not have the data.

Perhaps a better approach would be to wait until we do, before rolling out WIFI in schools and public areas.

Another important aspect of enjoying the increased convenience of WIFI is that when you are accessing public networks, your infomation you view online is not neccessailu safe.

Anything you type while on a WIFI connection can potentially be seen by others and therefore one of the best things you can do is make sure you are behind a secure connection, such as https and not http, as this will offer an encrypted solution.

Overall WIFI is impacting the lives of us all and will continue to do so, and my suggestio is to stay imformed and regards the facts while also remembering to guard your private info online.