Cahners In-Stat Group expects annual wireless LAN sales to hit $2.2 billion by 2004--nearly triple last year's sales of $771 million. Cisco's market presence is important, because its new line was designed to be managed from remote locations by Cisco's Internetwork Operating System and integrates with the vendor's commonly used network hardware, says Patrick Paczkowski, associate analyst at Current Analysis. "Cabletron and 3Com have similar products," he says, "but the IOS operating system is very well-known and manages Cisco's routers and switches."

The Cisco WLAN line includes hardware devices called access points that provide Internet connectivity, antennas and bridges, and adapters that support Windows operating systems and Novell NetWare clients. It also interoperates with existing wireless LANs or wired LANs, Cisco says.

David Rickling, lead network engineer at E-Trade Group Inc. and an early user of the system, says Cisco's access points were preassembled--unlike others he has used. "I was flabbergasted that I was able to get the system up and running within seconds," he says. Still, like all wireless LANs, Cisco's Aironet 340 has range and speed limitations. "If you're utilizing high-level multimedia applications, you might see disruptions in the quality of the connection," Rickling says.

Pricing starts at $1,299 for access points, $249 for PC Cards, $359 for the wireless adapters, and $1,949 for wireless bridges.