UAE becoming a wireless hot spot

Hot spots, which allow wireless access to the Web through computers or PDAs within a certain area, are gaining popularity in the Emirates

Emirates Internet and Multimedia (EIM), Etisalat's Internet business unit, plans to go live with the first Internet 'hot spots' in the UAE by September.

"We aim to launch the hot spots in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and then expand as per demand. There could be up to 50 such locations in the initial phase," said Abdulla Hashim, senior manager, sales and business development, EIM, in an announcement made in March this year. The UAE will be among the first few countries to introduce this service in the Middle East.

With the help of installed hubs, hot spots allow wireless access to the Web through computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) within a certain area. Hot spots can be installed in hotels, malls, cafés or airports allowing notebook users to log on to the Internet while waiting for a flight or sipping a cup of coffee just by using a wireless card attached to their computer.

Already available

The technology is already available in the UAE through several companies and is being used on a limited scale by some establishments like restaurants and cafes. The Sharjah Expo Centre recently adopted this wireless networking system and usage of the system is bound to get a boost once it is made available through Etisalat.

This advanced technology, which is gradually replacing wired computer networks, gives computer users a tremendous amount of freedom. With no cables and wires to hold them down to a particular desk or area, people can move around freely in an office, mall or exhibition centre, while continuing to have access to their files and Internet connection through their laptops.

The technology is equally useful in residential areas like villas where users can work from the bed, on the kitchen table or in the garden without having an ugly mess of wires all over the house.

Radio frequencies

Communication between wireless devices equipped with wireless access capability takes place through radio frequencies. Also, wireless kits allow devices like desktop computers, notebook computers and personal digital assistants (PDA) to share a broadband connection such as Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL) or cable modems at home or office.

Thus an entire family or even a medium size office can work on independent machines using the same Internet account. So you could be surfing for new recipes while cooking in the kitchen at the same time as your children work on school projects or chat with their friends in their room. And if you come across a good recipe, you could print it to a printer located in your study, without having to leave the kitchen.

How this technology can be used to increase efficiency can be seen at The Irish Village, Dubai, which has recently installed a wireless network system for processing orders. The system is simple and easy to use. The waiters have been given hand held PDAs that are connected to the wireless network.

They key in the order while talking to the customers and the order is immediately printed in the kitchen and the bar. When the food is ready, it is brought to the table by runners.

Similarly, the waiter can print the bill through the PDA as soon as the customers ask for it. Because waiters do not have to leave the tables either to place or fetch the order, each waiter can look after a larger area and yet pay more attention to the customers.

"In addition to the tables inside, we also have a large outdoor area. Earlier our service staff had to queue up at one central computer for placing the orders, resulting in a slowing down of service on busy days. After the installation of wireless hot spot technology we are able to serve our customers better and the volume of business has shown a marked increase," said Bernard O'Neill, assistant manager at the Irish Village.

The Irish Village is also connected to the Aviation Club through wireless networking. "We have 70 devices from desktop computers, PDA's and printers to cameras, in locations that would be difficult to reach with wires, that are connected to four access points in the wireless network through a fibre optic cable.

"During the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Tournament held recently, the press room was also outfitted with a wireless network. Using computer notebook cards provided by us, journalists covering the event were able to conveniently access information on the ATP networks," said Michael Fernandes, systems officer, The Aviation Club, Dubai.

Connecting the Irish village to the Aviation Club has also made accounting procedures easier for administrative staff as they have a record of every bill issued through each PDA.

For this project, the hardware components were supplied by SMC Networks Middle East and Key Information Technology provided the point of sale software for the system.

"We have a host of affordable, high performance products to provide wireless networking solutions for home and office environments. Our products are designed to be secure and easy to use, making it convenient for home owners and businesses to set up and maintain the system," said Jamshed Mehdi, managing director, SMC Networks Middle East.

"To make portable computing even more mobile, our company has recently launched the Universal Wireless Card Bus Adapter that can be used to connect to any standards-based wireless network to enjoy the facilities of a Hot Spot or wireless network.

"Our latest Wireless Card Bus Adapter operates at distances of up to 1,700 feet and offers high speed data rates that are ten times faster than other Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) products available in the market," he added.