Is Apple Airport required if I already have a wireless home network?

Hi,
I am looking to get a Macbook Air soon. I was just wondering if I already have a wireless home network. Do I have to have a Apple Airport to connect to the internet? Is this just something extra to play music wirelessly? Thank You!!!

Hi, welcome to the forums!

The product names may be a bit confusing at first:

1) The MacBook Air (and all Mac portables) come with a built in WiFi card called Airport Extreme, this is the card used to talk with wireless routers.

2) Apple makes two versions of a wireless router the first is called Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS), the second is called TimeCapsule which is really just an AEBS with a built in hard drive used for TimeMachine backups.

3) The Airport Express product basically is a hybrid device that can act as a wireless router or an access point. This product also has the capability to stream music, share a connection etc to a small user base.

If you already have a wireless network with a router, you do not need to buy anything else since the MacBook Air comes with a wireless card built in. You will be all set and ready to go when you get your new machine.