Editing Wireless access point (section)

==Limitations==
It is generally recommended that one [[IEEE 802.11]] AP should have, at a maximum, 10–25 clients.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mcnc.org/sites/default/files/Designing-and-Building-a-Campus-Wireless-Network-2012-v2.pdf|title=Designing and Building a Campus Wireless Network|year=2012|publisher=MCNC|quote=For areas that have high bandwidth and a concentrated area of users (i.e. classrooms in a 1:1 computing school), plan for approximately 15-25 data users per AP. When wireless devices are used for high bandwidth applications or concurrent use such as online testing, an even greater number of APs may be required to achieve a density closer to 10-15 users per AP.|access-date=June 15, 2017|archive-date=July 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731232127/https://www.mcnc.org/sites/default/files/Designing-and-Building-a-Campus-Wireless-Network-2012-v2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the actual maximum number of clients that can be supported can vary significantly depending on several factors, such as type of APs in use, density of client environment, desired client throughput, etc. 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 (electronics)|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 [[repeater]]s, which [[Amplifier|amplify]] a radio signal, and [[Passive repeater|reflector]]s, which only bounce it. In experimental conditions, wireless networking has operated over distances of several hundred kilometers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Setting Long Distance WiFi Records: Proofing Solutions for Rural Connectivity|url=http://www.ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/487/420|author=Ermanno Pietrosemoli|publisher=Fundación Escuela Latinoamericana de Redes [[University of the Andes (Venezuela)]]|access-date=March 17, 2012|archive-date=December 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219000813/http://www.ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/487/420|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Most jurisdictions have only a limited number of frequencies legally available for use by wireless networks. Usually, adjacent APs will use different frequencies (channels) to communicate with their clients in order to avoid [[Interference (communication)|interference]] between the two nearby systems. Wireless devices can "listen" for data traffic on other frequencies, and can rapidly switch from one frequency to another to achieve better reception. However, the limited number of frequencies becomes problematic in crowded downtown areas with tall buildings using multiple APs. In such an [[Built environment|environment]], signal overlap becomes an issue causing interference, which results in signal degradation and data errors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The overlapping channel problem|url=https://community.jisc.ac.uk/library/advisory-services/overlapping-channel-problem}}</ref>

Wireless networking lags wired networking in terms of increasing [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] and [[throughput]]. While (as of 2013) high-density [[256-QAM#Quantized QAM|256-QAM]] modulation, 3-antenna wireless devices for the consumer market can reach sustained real-world speeds of some 240&nbsp;Mbit/s at 13 m behind two standing walls ([[Non-line-of-sight propagation|NLOS]]) depending on their nature or 360&nbsp;Mbit/s at 10 m line of sight or 380&nbsp;Mbit/s at 2 m line of sight ([[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|IEEE]] [[802.11ac]]) or 20 to 25&nbsp;Mbit/s at 2 m line of sight ([[IEEE]] [[802.11g]]), wired hardware of similar cost reaches closer to 1000&nbsp;Mbit/s up to specified distance of 100 m with twisted-pair cabling in optimal conditions ([[Cat‑5|Category 5 (known as Cat-5)]] or better cabling with [[Gigabit Ethernet]]). One impediment to increasing the speed of wireless communications comes from [[Wi-Fi]]'s use of a shared communications medium: Thus, two stations in infrastructure mode that are communicating with each other even over the same AP must have each and every frame transmitted twice: from the sender to the AP, then from the AP to the receiver. 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. Thus a typical 54&nbsp;Mbit/s wireless connection actually carries [[TCP/IP]] data at 20 to 25&nbsp;Mbit/s. Users of legacy wired networks expect faster speeds, and people using wireless connections keenly want to see the wireless networks catch up.

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