Probably the biggest problem with Wi-Fi today is that it has a bad name when it comes to reliability and manageability.
We're all too familiar with the experience of finding a Wi-Fi access point only to discover that for some inexplicable reason we can't access it at all or if we do the quality of the connection mysteriously drops in mid-session.
This is less of a problem using higher end Wi-Fi products from companies such as Cisco, Aruba, Motorola and others but then you not only incur a higher level of expense, you also pretty much have to dedicate people to setting them up correctly and then managing them.
Given these issues the announcement of a new SmartMesh technology from Ruckus Wireless is pretty intriguing because it promises to lower the cost of not only deploying wireless technology but also reduce the set-up time by half. Furthermore, the company claims that performance will be a lot better because it has a patent approach to managing the radio frequencies so that any thing that is interfering with a radio signal can essentially be routed around.
The lack of reliability of 802.11 wide area networks has given rise to a whole host of alternative wireless network systems, most notably the new EVDO systems that are being promulgated by telecommunications carriers. These tend to be fairly reliable offerings with plenty of reach but on an individual basis they cost a lot more than an 802.11 wireless network.
People have been talking about deploying wireless networks across cities for free for some time now. Unfortunately, a lot of municipalities have given up on that dream. But if Ruckus and other manufacturers of 802.11n wireless network devices can finally solve the riddle of reliability and manageability within the context of a mesh network that automatically optimizes the amount of bandwidth needed for each user then maybe the dream the original dream for 802.11 wireless mesh networks is still very much alive after all.