“We have a problem,” Matt said as he looked around his bedroom in his new apartment.

“The only cable coming into the house is coming into my room. But everybody else wants to hook up to the Internet, too.”

I looked over to where my son was pointing. He had set up his computer on one side of the room, but the Internet connection was on the other side. So he had run an Ethernet cord across a doorway to get to his own computer.

Anyone else in the house needing an Internet connection would have to run cords underneath Matt’s door, go along a floor board down the hallway.

“Why don’t you just go with Wi-Fi?” I asked.

Wireless networking

I was curious about how much it would cost two or three college roommates to set up a Wi-Fi access point (an 802.11b/g router) to the Internet so it could serve several computers using different operating systems.

The concept is pretty simple. You have to install a radio transmitter /receiver in each computer. You then set up a radio transmitter/receiver to the Internet connection coming into your house.

“We recommend wireless for homes,” said Terry Moore, a supervisor at IT Specialists, a division of Sunflower Broadband. Sunflower Broadband is owned by The World Company, which is the parent company of the Journal-World.

Moore said he had been setting up lots of wireless networks for Kansas University students in Lawrence, including a system for 11 girls who are sharing a four-story house.

There are two basic speeds for wireless products, which are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance to create standards.

The older 802.11b connections can transmit and receive at a speed of 11 mbps (megabytes per second).

The newer Wi-Fi products using 802.11g, can transmit at 54 mbps. The “g” products are also backward-compatible with the “b” products.

Setting it up

Setting up such a Wi-Fi system eliminates the wiring problem, letting you put your computer where you want it, rather than where the cable Internet connection comes into the house or apartment.

“It’s not really all that hard,” said George Schaeffer, owner and general manager of Lawrence Networks, which also installs wireless networks for businesses and homes. “If you read the directions, you can pretty much walk your way through it.”

Schaeffer recently set up computers in a house for a group of five KU female students.

Two of the computers were Windows 2000, two had Windows XP and two were Macintosh. He set it up so they could swap files between computers and all use the same printer.

Security an issue

However, because Wi-Fi systems use a low-range radio signal (about 150 feet, depending on what kind of walls the signal has to pass through), others can tap into it.

“It will work right out of the box, but that’s with no security whatsoever,” Moore said. “What we run into is that people will have a wide-open access point that anyone can get onto.”

So you’ll want to set up security to make sure it’s at least as secure as a wired system.

Moore and Schaeffer said they usually set up the systems they install to provide 128-bit encryption, which is security equivalent to a wired system.

Shopping around

My son has a Macintosh G-4, so he needs to get an AirPort card to connect wirelessly. The 802.11g card is $99. (The older AirPort 802.11b card is $79.)

His roommates can get wireless PC cards, which are cheaper, to install in their computers. NetGear had one for $67 that will work with either 802.11b or 802.11g.

I also found that the older 802.11b PC cards go for anywhere between $30 and up, depending on the manufacturer. If you want to install these yourself, you’ll have to determine what models will work best on your laptop or desktop.

The routers also vary in price.

Apple’s AirPort Base Station ($199) comes with a USB port so the users can share a common printer. You also can get a Base Station that includes a modem (for tapping into the system from a phone line), plus a range-extending external connector ($249).

NetLux makes the D-Link AirPlus (802.11g router) for $91.79. I also found Netgear makes 802.11b routers that go from between $45 and $80.

Still wired

A few days later, Matt asked me to come over to help him work on a clothes dryer.

He needed some tools to change out a four-pronged cord with a three-pronged cord, so he could get the dryer hooked up to the three-prong 220 outlet off his kitchen.

As I helped him with that project, I told him what I had learned about getting a Wi-Fi system.

“I checked into it and you can probably get a wireless router for about $70 or $80 and another $80 or so to put a Wi-Fi card in your computer,” I told him. “It’ll cost you between $65 and $85 to have someone install it for you.”

He laughed.

“We don’t have any money. What makes you think I’ve got that kind of money to spend?”

“I don’t know,” I said, pointing at two empty beer kegs over by his kitchen table. We talked a little about priorities.

“So what are you guys going to do?” I said, helping him finish the dryer project.

“Just get a wire,” he said.

I guess it will still be awhile before he finally cuts the cord.