No longer need your broadband internet connection be limited to one computer, or even to one room in the house. One-box wireless networking is increasingly common in connected homes.

Over the past two years, wireless networking has reached further into spaces it has not penetrated before, and you can often find connections in coffee shops, airport lounges and hotels. Some cities are even running wireless broadband networks that cover whole districts and boroughs.

The key change came with the founding of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance. WECA was dedicated to making sure that 802.11 wireless networks from different suppliers all worked together. It trademarked the Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) name and provided a logo for products that met its standard, which was ratified in September 1999. This set the scene for an avalanche of Wi-Fi products, and Apple led the way with the launch of its Airport hub.

Today, Wi-Fi products are sold on the high street and through online suppliers. Wi-Fi is not limited to broadband: you could easily use it with a dial-up modem.

However, broadband is driving sales. Typically, someone gets a high-speed ADSL or cable connection and finds it is "always on", but only one PC can use it. Wi-Fi makes sharing that connection simpler.

You start with a wireless hub, and plug that into your ADSL modem. Other computers - Wintel PCs, Macs, PocketPCs, it doesn't matter - can be connected to the Wi-Fi system by plugging in a wireless Ethernet card.

This could either be an expansion card that fits in a