Toucan Broadband

I guess everyone on the planet knows what is Toucan Broadband.

2Mbits/sec maximum in the UK. I can't tell for sure from the web page but it looks like DSL. The page says that Toucan supplies the DSL modem. Make sure that it's an ethernet DSL bridge/modem, and not a USB bridge/modem.

Just about any wireless router will work at 2Mbits/sec. However, I like to do things a bit differently which unfortunatly costs a bit more. I like seperate boxes for the modem, the router, and the wireless access point.

The reasons are:

1. The modem might change if you switch to a CATV modem. The router and wireless access point remain the same.

1. The modem and router tend to want to live where all the wires and cables come together. That's usually under a table, in a closet, basement or other RF disgusting environment. If the wireless were part of the router, you would probably be complaining about the lack of range from the closet or basement. There's nothing wrong with using a wireless router in the closet (for those days when you want to work in the closet) and adding a seperate access point in the middle of the main coverage area.

2. The access point should be located as high as possible and in the center of the coverage area. That's often incompatible with where the CAT5 and telco wires must run. By using a seperate box, there are more opertunities for optimizing the wireless location.

1. You can power off the access point when it's not being used. This provides substantially improved wireless security.

2. New wireless standards (i.e. 802.11n) are coming real-soon-now. When they arrive, you just *ADD* the new acronym to the network with a CAT5 cable to the router, and you have support for the latest buzzwords.

You can use any wireless router as an access point by:

1. Reset the management IP address to something in the IP block of the router
2. Turn off the DHCP server.
3. Ignore the WAN (internet port)
4. Run CAT5 between a LAN port on the ethernet router, to one of the LAN ports on the wireless router.

Anyway, I don't have any recommendations. Do some Googling on the Netgear, Linksys, and DLink web piles and see if there's anything that meets your unspecified requirements. If you're also buying wireless cards for the laptops, it would be nice to know what their maker and model. Most modern laptops have recommended wireless cards with drivers supported by the manufacturer. That's the safest. I would look for 802.11g and avoid any of the proprietary Turbo, Afterburner, and wiz-bang, enhancements.