Until recently, few IT leaders would have been caught dead singing the praises of wireless LANs. Although available for more than a decade, wireless LAN products were notorious for being far slower and more expensive than their wire-bound counterparts. IEEE 802.11b changed all that. The standard, ratified in late 1999, lets data fly through the air at Ethernet-level speeds: up to 11Mbps (though real-world speeds are often half that, thanks to various forms of electrical and physical interference, such as mobile phone signals and cubicle walls). In early 2000, major networking vendors such as Cisco Systems and Lucent Technologies, plus a host of smaller companies, quickly jumped on IEEE 802.11b. Equipment prices subsequently fell and popularity soared. Now FedEx Ground and a growing number of other organizations are discovering that wireless LAN technology can not only replace wired LANs but also expand the very concept of local networks.

As word of wireless LAN technology’s newfound vigor spreads, sales are growing rapidly. According to Phillips InfoTech, a technology market research company in Parsippany, N.J., industry revenues will climb from $300 million in 1999 to $1.7 billion in 2004. "Companies with people who work in warehouses, on factory floors and in other nonoffice settings have found wireless LANs to be particularly useful," says Shelly Tyler, a Phillips InfoTech senior analyst. The technology also appeals to organizations that need to create a LAN but don’t want to tear up an office to install cabling.

Yet as wireless LAN sales take off, some observers worry that the technology could become a victim of its own success. Signal interference, security concerns and confusing new standards could emerge to once again dampen enthusiasm. "Despite some claims to the contrary, the wireless LAN puzzle hasn’t yet been completed," says Tyler. "But there’s certainly been a great start."

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FedEx Ground is taking advantage of that start by expediting the movement of shipping information from delivery workers’ terminals to a central database. Wireless LAN technology lets FedEx Ground give its customers faster delivery confirmations, including signed proof of delivery. Last fall, the company began deploying wireless LANs at each of its more than 400 local pickup and delivery centers as part of an $80 million technology upgrade project. As the vans return home, the LAN automatically moves package data from drivers’ portable computers to the database.