Is Wireless Router Slower?

[qahwah]

Most of the wireless router I have seen support upto 22Mbps or 54Mbps. But the wired routers are normally 10/100Mbps dual mode. Does this mean wireless routers are slower? We have cable service at home, it's supposed to be 512Mbps, and even DSL has 128Mbps, so would the wireless router be the bottleneck of home network?

 

[owensdj]

qahwah, no. The bottleneck will still be your cable(or DSL) modem Internet connection. It's still far slower than the speed of wireless networking.

I think you're a bit confused about the speed of your cable modem Internet service. No cable modem service is anywhere near 512Mbps(512 million bits per second). I think you mean 512Kbps(512 thousand bits per second).

 

[sabka]

Wireless is slower than wired networks, you're right.
But that is only for the wireless part of the network. Most wireless routers have built-in 10/100 ports for hard-wiring purposes (so they can be either wireless, wired or both at the same time).

This speed will only matter if you are shifting big files within your own network (i.e. from computer to computer).
As owensdj said, you will still have the bottleneck of your Cable/DSL provider which can usually get about 3Mbps max.

 

[qahwah]

yeahrite, it's kbps not mbps. So a wireless router can also support wired connections? That's great!:sun:

 

[JackMDS]

General Info about Wireless.

AnandTech - FAQ. What do I need for wireless Networking?

Wireless Cable/DSL Router or Access Point ? What should I get?

Wireless Security for the Home User.

Wireless What Should I Get (April, Edition)?

 

[Joker81]

The only way you would see a bottleneck would be if you have an OC3 comming into your house. So don't worry about that. And remember the routers support upto 54Mbps but depending on how far the router is away or if there are any obstacles in the way you will see a decrease in performance. I have had problems where it will connect at 1-2Mbps and thats when I start to have problems on the net. The difference in over head is a lot different of Wired/Wireless some reports have stated that a 54Mbps Wireless router is averages ~22Mbps in reality still above your bandwidth standards so it ok.

 

[Coldfusion]

Depends on your level on encryption.