News

3Com follows wireless "gateway" trend with SME WLAN launch

Smaller businesses often have nothing more than a broadband Internet connection when they start looking at sharing it with a wireless LAN; and lack the expertise to set up firewalls, routers and the like. The problem has been addressed by several home WLAN sellers, but 3Com has now taken the Wireless Gateway concept into the SME arena.

Claiming that this makes WLAN "more practical" for small businesses, Kathy Rocha, vice president for the Small Business Division of 3Com has announced the OfficeConnect gateway: "With the combination of wireless and DSL or cable, small businesses can cut costs by sharing a single broadband connection and avoiding the high cost of laying cable, while enjoying the inherent flexibility and mobility of wireless," she said.

The idea seems to be that the small business manager simply buys the single product and gets both wired and wireless networking in one box. The OfficeConnect gateway is a standard 802.11b access poin, with an integrated 4-port switch. "The gateway router offers small businesses the flexibility to set up or extend their network without the costs or inconvenience of installing new wiring," said the official announcement. "Unlike offerings from other vendors, the OfficeConnect Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway is a high-quality, reliable solution designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses and Small Office/Home Offices (SOHOs)."

It won't be possible for most small businesses to "DIY" with this box, however, because it includes an integrated firewall, with the ability to do virtual private network "tunnelling" through secure links to the Internet.

The OfficeConnect Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway offers an integrated basic firewall, "enabling small businesses to block hacker attacks and hide the LAN from detection by hackers," suggests the announcement. In all seriousness, only a pretty clued-up network manager would be likely to try this.

The NewsWireless Net hopes to get a Gateway for test in due course; the usability of the firewall will be high on the list of things to evaluate. Setting up a VPN requires not only expertise, but the co-operation of an ISP technical manager.

The product is almost certainly a trend, though - it is the way all small business WLAN access products will be bundled, since the people who maintain these things do like to have a simple, one-box solution - if it works. But it could lead to comical messes if art gallery managers or PR company founders decide to start fiddling with the settings.

The OfficeConnect Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway connects to an existing cable or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem via an Ethernet cable and acts as a wireless access point to offer simultaneous Internet access for up to 32 wireless users.

Further details are in 3Com's press release. Availability will be confirmed later for the European market. In the US, the OfficeConnect Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway is priced at $280 and is expected to be available this month.