Officially called the 802.11B protocol, what is commonly referred to as Wireless-B technology has been around since October of 1999. This technology has become widely adopted, largely due to its high availability and low cost.
The Wireless-B standard can operate with speeds up to 11 Mbit/s at ranges up to and occassionally greater than 100 feet. The technology can reach farther than 100 feet, however, as the distance increases, the speed decreases.
The 802.11B standard operates in the 2.4 GHz portion of the radio spectrum. While this frequency range offers many benefits and advantages such as low cost, small component size, and the ability to penetrate walls, floors and other obstacles, one of the biggest drawbacks is its susceptibility to interference. Other devices operating in the 2.4 GHz portion of the radio spectrum include microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors and cordless telephones. Each of these devices can call exists with a wireless router operating on the Wireless-B protocol, however, the user may experience a degrading of the signal strength which can affect both the speed and the range of the connection.
Most wireless routers and other wireless networking equipment on the market today, while touting their abilities to function and operate on the other protocols are also capable of operating under the 802.11B or Wireless-B standards.