Network Management Strategies for the CIO
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You don't say how far you are from that company's wireless network. If you're on the outer fringe of the intended coverage area -- for example, you can almost always see that network's name in your list of Available Wireless Networks, but you can't sustain a connection -- consider using a more sensitive wireless card and/or attaching a higher-gain external antenna to your card. In these cases, you're hoping that just a little improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) will turn a marginally unusable connection into a slow-but-usable one. Not all PC cards can be connected to external antennas, and some 802.11 adapters are more sensitive than others. For example, see this RadioLabs High Power 300mw 802.11a/b/g Wireless Card and our Mobile 7 Magnetic Mount Antenna.
If you're more than a few hundred feet away, with multiple walls in between, then simply boosting your card's range may not be enough. Alternatively, consider installing a Wi-Fi range extender -- a wireless repeater designed to sit in between an AP and distant clients. A repeater essentially echoes whatever it hears -- this approach consumes twice as much "air time" but can be an inexpensive way to increase range when you don't have control over the AP and can't use a more sensitive wireless card. For examples, see the Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander or the Hawking Wireless 300N Range Extender.
Note that you don't want to buy a range booster antenna designed to replace the factory-installed rubber ducky antennas found on most APs. Because you don't own the AP, you cannot modify it. You need to find a client-side or mid-span solution that doesn't require any change to the AP.
This was first published in November 2008
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