What Is an Internal PCI 802.11 G Wireless Network Card?

An internal PCI 802.11 G wireless network card is a device inside a computer that allows it to communicate with nearby wireless networks. Such cards are common inside laptops and netbooks, though some desktops include them as well.

PCI

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) is an interface for add-on cards. The transfer rate for PCI is 133MB per second shared across all connected cards, which is far more than enough bandwidth for wireless networking cards as of September 2010. Though PCI is an outdated technology, it is still common in computers due to the large number of devices that use it.

802.11

The protocol ratified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1997 for wireless local area networks (WLAN) is 802.11. It is also known as Wi-Fi. It is the most popular standard for wireless networking in homes and offices due to the wide range of compatible devices and their low costs.

Amendment G

In 2003, the IEEE released 802.11g as an amendment to the original standard. Devices using this protocol operate in the radio frequency range of 2.4 to 2.495GHz and use a modulation scheme called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. It has a peak transfer rate of 54Mbps with an average throughput of about 22Mbps. Devices following the 802.11g protocol are fully backward compatible with older 802.11b networks.

References

• Wireless Networking in the Developing World: A Practical Guide to Planning and Building Low-cost Telecommunications Infrastructure
• TopBits: PCI