84 Part II: Making Plans

Budgeting for Your Wireless Network

Assuming that you already own at least one computer (and probably more) and one or more printers that you intend to add to the network, we do not include the cost of computers and printers in this section. In addition, the cost of subscribing to an ISP is not included in the following networking cost estimates.

Wireless networking hardware — essentially APs and wireless network adapters — is available at a wide range of prices. With a little planning, you won’t be tempted to bite on the first product that you see. You can use the following guidelines when budgeting for an AP and wireless network adapters. Keep in mind, however, that the prices for this equipment will certainly change over time, perhaps rapidly. Don’t use this information as a substitute for due diligence and market research on your part.

Pricing access points

At the time of this writing, wireless access points for home use range in price from about $75 (street price) to around $200.

Street price is the price at which you can purchase the product from a retail outlet, such as a computer-electronics retail store or an online retailer. The dreaded suggested retail price is often higher.

Multifunction access points that facilitate connecting multiple computers to the Internet — wireless Internet gateways if they contain modem functionality, and wireless gateways if they don’t — range in price from about $100 to $300.

You need to budget roughly $100 for an IEEE 802.11b AP and about $120 for an IEEE 802.11g (draft) AP. An IEEE 802.11a AP will run $150, but prices are coming down. Add about $50 for a dual-mode (a/b or a/g) model.

The price differentials between the cheapest APs and the more expensive models will generally correspond to differences in features. For example, APs that support the IEEE 802.11a wireless standard are more expensive than similar APs that support only the much slower IEEE 802.11b standard. Similarly, an AP that is also a cable/DSL router costs more than an AP from the same manufacturer that doesn’t include the router feature. You can also expect to pay a little bit more for the most popular brand names, such as Linksys and Microsoft. You don’t need to buy the most expensive AP in order to get adequate performance.