Many of the switch vendors provide sophisticated site survey software that can help with this, using APs to measure each other's signal strength and mapping the results to building blueprints. But this doesn't solve the fundamental problem, which is that there aren't enough radio channels in the 2.4GHz band for a dense cluster of APs.
Wi-Fi networks can also use the 5GHz band, which has many times more channels and so lets APs be placed much closer together. However, none of the shipping Wi-Fi phones support 5GHz. The first to do so will be Motorola's dual-mode GSM and Wi-Fi handset, which will only work with Wi-Fi and VoIP infrastructure from the company's partners, Proxim and Avaya.
Start-ups Meru Networks and Legra Systems have both developed technology that allows adjacent APs to use the same radio channel, meaning that a 2.4GHz network can be made as large or as dense as necessary. These systems work in the same way as 3G and CDMA cellular networks, allowing users to be connected to more than one AP at a time.
Other vendors recommend standardizing on 5GHz for voice and 2.4GHz for data. This is possible, as most APs now contain two radios and can thus support both simultaneously, but it's too inflexible. In the long term, nearly all Wi-Fi networks will use the 5GHz band for both voice and data. In the short term, 2.4GHz is required for backward compatibility.
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