Wireless technology has steadily become a bigger presence in most people’s everyday lives. Whether it’s at work, home, a stadium or even in cars, people rely on wireless technology for information, entertainment to communicate and more. It’s almost hard to imagine how so much got accomplished prior to wireless technology becoming a critical entity in so many different industries and places.

Wireless is practically a given in everything we do now, but that does not make it any less important than it was during its early beginnings. In fact, wireless technology might be more important today than ever before. It does so much, from providing speed, flexibility and network efficiency to transferring information and enhancing productivity. As time goes on, dependency on wireless will only get stronger.

Keep reading to get a better idea of why wireless technology is so important.

What is wireless technology?

Wireless technology is tech that allows people to communicate or data to be transferred from one point to another without using cables or wires. A lot of the communication is done with radio frequency and infrared waves.

The importance of wireless tech

As more people embrace a more flexible lifestyle, including working from home, wireless technology becomes that much more critical. Tech-savvy employees can share information instantly, allowing productivity levels to stay up, regardless of if workers are in the same office or not. All they need in an internet connection.

Enhancing employees’ ability to work remotely is just one item on a very long list of the benefits of wireless, however. There’s also the cost factor—wireless networks are typically less expensive to install and maintain compared to other network options, according to AMS Technologies. Data moves faster over wireless networks, which can be accessed from any location at any time.

There’s also the matter of safety. Medical professionals who work in remote areas can contact other medical centers through wireless without any issues. Plus, emergency situations can be addressed faster with wireless communication.

Benefits of wireless technology

No technological advancement is without its flaws, but wireless technology offers a number of plusses that outweigh the minuses. For starters, it makes users a lot more mobile. People can access whatever information or data they need in real time, courtesy of a wireless network. Wireless also makes for easier installation and a cleaner set up. There is very little, if any, cabling preventing safety hazards.

Meanwhile, in-building wireless networks offer employees, tenants, and visitors connectivity throughout the entire property—as long as the network is reliable. Plus, many wireless networks today are “future proof”, meaning they can be easily updated to accommodate new technology as it becomes available.
Deploying or upgrading an in-building wireless network might feel expensive initially, but it is worth having in the long run because the cost to maintain it over time will decrease. Meanwhile, networks can be tailored to a building owner or company’s specific needs.

Why wireless technology is important to businesses

It’s becoming harder for businesses to remain competitive if they don’t embrace technology, that includes a reliable, wireless network. In an office environment, wireless lets employees move around the building without losing connection to the company network. Meanwhile, everyone can access the same important data and applications across the network from any device.

Wireless tech also allows businesses to remain nimble, according to internet provider Arvig. When a new employee starts, they can be added to the company network at no cost, and user requirements can be updated without much trouble. Without the hindrance of wires, employees can move from desk to desk with a laptop rather than unplug and set up a desktop computer all over again.

As a business grows whether in personnel numbers, scale, or both, it will benefit from having a flexible wireless network where network services, applications, and bandwidth can be added easily.

How wireless helps manufacturing

There’s been somewhat of a domino effect within the manufacturing industry recently. People shop online more than ever before, which has led to an increased demand for industrial and warehouse commercial real estate space. As manufacturers gained access to these industrial spaces, it became critical that properties were equipped with a reliable, in-building wireless network.

It would be very difficult to operate a warehouse without wireless connectivity today. Partly because consumer demand is so high, warehouses need to automate a lot of production to help get items out of the facility and on the way to customers as quickly as possible.

“The global enterprise business in first-, second- and third-party logistics has a unique opportunity to deploy private wireless networks for seamless indoor and outdoor low-latency connectivity by leveraging all available spectrum assets,” Nokia Enterprise Campaign Strategist for Logistics David McKinley wrote last year. “This will help with automated storage and retrieval systems, industrial IoT sensors, robotic process automation, drone industrial inspection, and autonomous equipment or vehicles.”

The warehouse tech McKinley mentioned is only as good as the wireless network it’s running on. Robots, automated warehouse transportation vehicles and devices that send reporting data all help make processes smoother in industrial spaces, but they can’t do their job without wireless. Additionally, wireless networks don’t just speed up production, they help keep workers safe. Warehouses often have a lot of internet-connected machines and sensors that can detect when equipment is broken or about to break and send a warning before someone uses it and gets hurt.

“5G networks offer manufacturers and telecom operators the chance to build smart factories and truly take advantage of technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence, augmented reality for troubleshooting, and IoT,” Ericsson said in a report. “With 5G, operators can create new revenue streams. Alongside energy and utility, manufacturing represents one of the most significant sectors for new revenue potential for operators addressing industry digitalization with 5G technologies.”

Why wireless is important to healthcare

Wireless technology will always be critical to the healthcare industry, but its importance was front and center during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients still needed to see their physicians, but office visits became difficult to accommodate during the shutdown. Thanks to wireless technology, doctors could perform tele health visits, which many patients welcomed. The amount of tele health visits increased by 50% during the first quarter of 2020, compared to the same timeframe in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Tele health visits are just the beginning of what wireless tech means to the healthcare industry, however. With wireless, physicians can leverage technology like smart sensors that can detect certain medical conditions and send that information to a receiving device and on to a central data base. Meanwhile, wearable technology remains one of the most significant advancements we have today. Sleep, heart rate, exercise steps taken and more can be tracked on these devices.

Since wearables can be connected to smartphones, all of that information can be stored in a convenient location. Doctors can access that information to help them make more informed decisions about their patients’ care and treatment options.

Wireless technology also allows patients with certain medical conditions to be monitored with implants that are connected to smartphone apps. For example, a patient with diabetes could have a smart sensor implanted in their skin to monitor their glucose level. The app can detect any changes to the baseline specifications a physician sets and send an alert if there’s an emergency. Additionally, wireless medical equipment allows patient information to be transferred quickly, accurately and in real time.

What wireless technology means to CRE

It’s been documented how important it is for commercial real estate owners to have a reliable, in-building wireless connectivity within their properties. These days, it’s almost impossible to retain or attract tenants without it. After location, a building’s connectivity is the next biggest factor a potential tenant will consider when deciding whether or not to lease space there. That’s how much importance tenants put on wireless technology. They want to know that they’ll be able to make calls on their cell phone without it dropping due to a bad connection and not have difficulty hosting a video conference because the network isn’t strong enough.

Reliable wireless connectivity for CRE isn’t just about the ability to use mobile devices without issue, however. Wireless can also play a part in tenants’ health. For example, following the COVID-19 pandemic, indoor air quality has become a higher priority as workers return to their offices. CRE owners have turned to devices that can measure their building’s indoor air quality and deliver results in real time. Most of these devices are Internet of Things (IoT)-based and need a strong wireless connection to be effective.

“For less than the price of a health-club membership, an IoT-based wireless IAQ node can deliver real-time IAQ measurements that assure occupants of levels of carbon dioxide, PM, VOCs, Formaldehyde, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide, and more,” the software company Sense ware said. “Ignorance is a thing of the past. IAQ monitoring will provide objective data to ensure that HVAC systems within the built environment provide healthy conditions for building occupants.

Having a quality wireless network can also be the difference between life and death. It’s critical that CRE owners connectivity is reliable in the event of an emergency. Tenants must be able to make calls for help on their cell phones and first responders might be counting on the building’s network to communicate with one another. There are a lot of reasons why wireless technology is important, but ensuring the safety of tenants might be the biggest reason of them all.

Recourse : http://connectedremag.com/das-in-building-wireless/wireless/why-is-wireless- technology