Re: laptops from japan connecting to australian broadband
I'd bet it has something to do with the channel frequencies not lining up.
The channels that are available for use in a particular country differ according to the regulations of that country. In the United States, for example, FCC regulations only allow channels 1 through 11 to be used. In Europe channels 1-13 are licensed for 802.11b operation but only allow lower transmitted power (only 100 mW) to reduce the interference with other users of the band.
