802.11a how fast?

[LordxRaven]

First I have to say I live in Germany and I want to buy some 802.11a products, but in Germany are no 802.11a products available.
Before I buy something in US I would to know how fast 802.11a really is.

From one roof to the other roof is a free (no trees or something) distance from 165 feet (50 Meter)

Are 802.11a cards available where I can connect an extern antenna (which I could do on the roof), or do I need 2 accespoints ?

Every grammatical fault and wrong word could be kept by the finder ;)

[mupdike]

First, it may be easier for you to find parts for the HyperLAN2 standard, the European alternative standard to 802.11a. But in answer to your question, what you are trying to do would require 2 access points, set in bridge mode, and possibly a pair of semi-directional antennas to cross your distance.

The rated speed for the standard is 54 Mbps, but most of the companies that manufacture 'a' access points are including a proprietary turbo mode that doubles that (like Proxim). The throughput would be about half the rated speed.

Good luck.

[LordxRaven]

there are also no Hyperlan2 products available in Germany

but thx for your answere

[johnnyr]

Just curious, but these products are functional in certain licensed bands; are those frequencies available in GE?

[mupdike]

Both the 802.11a & the HyperLan2 products operate in the un-liscensed 5Ghz UNII range. The 802.11a is a IEEE (US) standard, the HyperLan2 is an ETSI (Europe) standard. The two possibily will join into one standard in the future b/c of many similarities.