Wireless access point

Because setup is easy and does not require an access point, an ad hoc network is used in situations such as a quick data exchange or a multiplayer video game.

The range of communication can also vary significantly, depending on such variables as indoor or outdoor placement, height above ground, nearby obstructions, other electronic devices that might actively interfere with the signal by broadcasting on the same frequency, type of antenna, the current weather, operating radio frequency, and the power output of devices.

Network designers can extend the range of APs through the use of repeaters, which amplify a radio signal, and reflectors, which only bounce it.

However, the limited number of frequencies becomes problematic in crowded downtown areas with tall buildings using multiple APs.

This approximately halves the effective bandwidth, so an AP is only able to use somewhat less than half the actual over-the-air rate for data throughput.

By 2012, 802.11n based access points and client devices have already taken a fair share of the marketplace and with the finalization of the 802.11n standard in 2009 inherent problems integrating products from different vendors are less prevalent.

For example, in a 2008 article for Wired magazine, Bruce Schneier asserted the net benefits of open Wi-Fi without passwords outweigh the risks,[8] a position supported in 2014 by Peter Eckersley of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

[9] The opposite position was taken by Nick Mediati in an article for PC World, in which he advocates that every wireless access point should be protected with a password.