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Short range of wifi is intentional, unfortunately. They picked frequencies absorbed by water vapor in the atmosphere. On top of that, they picked high frequenci
by throwaway189262 6y ago
Short range of wifi is intentional, unfortunately. They picked frequencies absorbed by water vapor in the atmosphere. On top of that, they picked high frequencies that cell carriers don't want because they have little penetration.
The short range is intentional to allow many networks function in dense areas. Multiple AP's is really the only option
- ac29 6y ago> On top of that, they picked high frequencies that cell carriers don't want because they have little penetration. This is true somewhat, but frequencies in the 2-6 GHz range are pretty common for LTE, and cell carriers have spent many billions on the licenses.
- Ekaros 6y agoThey picked frequencies that were unlicensed. And at time 2.4GHz was likely good balance between bandwidth(frequency) and available technology. And the 2.4GHz was free because microwave-ovens used this frequency. As those licensing bands specially in 40s/50s would not have wanted to deal with potential issues. Thus it was designated for microwave-ovens. And later freed up for any use. Thus being available and free.
- throwaway189262 6y agoToo late to edit my comment but you're right. Apparently 2.4 being chosen for microwaves because it excites water is a common misconception. It was just a trade off between penetration and difficulty producing high frequencies back then