Wireless Networks: Local and Ad Hoc Networks

The main difference between wired and wireless networks is that there are no wires (The Air Link) and mobility is thus conferred by the lack of a wired tether. This leads to both the tremendous benefits of wireless networks and the perceived drawbacks to them. Some of the key technical challenges in wireless communications come from the hostile wireless propagation medium and user mobility. Most of the issues covered in this paper arise in any data network, wired and wireless likewise. What makes the wireless different is the degree of importance inherent to the problems that often appear in both types of networks.