While most makers of access points are in a standards race -- 802.11a, then g, then a+g -- a little outfit called Firetide is beating them to the punch.

The reason, in a word, is that Firetide is not selling access points, but mesh networks.

For customers, the difference between a mesh and a set of access points is like night-and-day. With an access point, coverage goes in a circle from that point, and you need a site survey to know how many points you need, and where you need them. With a mesh, on the other hand, you just keep adding nodes until you get coverage, and the nodes configure themselves.

This is done by putting the router inside the access point. A side-benefit is that, by connecting to the router, a wired device gains access to the wireless network. (Both illustrations in this item come from the Firetide Web site.)

The illustration above is, to me, a little over-the-top, since it shows the whole world as a mesh. But it works within an office or campus environment. It works more easily than all the competitors, with their a's, g's and a+g's. When the two ideas are combined, as they will be, you have a very powerful network.

Then the question becomes, what else can the router do? What else must the router do?