Беспроводной сетевой адаптер: устройство для подключения к Wi-Fi и другим беспроводным сетям.

Hardware component that connects a computer to a wireless computer network

A wireless network interface controller (WNIC) is a network interface controller which connects to a wireless network, such as Wi Fi, Bluetooth, or LTE (4G) or 5G rather than a wired network, such as an Ethernet network. A WNIC, just like other NICs, works on the layers 1 and 2 of the OSI model and uses an antenna to communicate via radio waves. A wireless network interface controller may be implemented as an expansion card and connected using PCI bus or PCIe bus, or connected via USB, PC Card, ExpressCard, Mini PCIe or M.2. The low cost and ubiquity of the Wi Fi standard means that many newer mobile computers have a wireless network interface built into the motherboard. The term is usually applied to IEEE 802.11 adapters; it may also apply to a NIC using protocols other than 802.11, such as one implementing Bluetooth connections.

Wireless range may be substantially affected by objects in the way of the signal and by the quality of the antenna. Large electrical appliances, such as refrigerators, fuse boxes, metal plumbing, and air conditioning units can impede a wireless network signal. The theoretical maximum range of IEEE 802.11 is only reached under ideal circumstances and true effective range is typically about half of the theoretical range. Specifically, the maximum throughput speed is only achieved at extremely close range (less than 25 feet (8 m) or so); at the outer reaches of a device's effective range, speed may decrease to around 1 Mbit/s before it drops out altogether. The reason is that wireless devices dynamically negotiate the top speed at which they can communicate without dropping too many data packets.