Wi-Fi Alliance starts testing draft 802.11n gear
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The Wi-Fi Alliance has started certification testing on 802.11n fast wireless LAN products.
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InfoWorld - &#8220;I-triple-what?&#8221; was the question being asked last week, after the Wi-Fi Alliance said it will start certifying next-generation wireless LAN products by the first half of 2007, regardless of whether the IEEE has signed off on new wireless specifications for them.
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(InfoWorld) - The Wi-Fi Alliance launched the action phase of its plan to get faster wireless networking products into the market on Monday, kicking off certification testing of gear based on a draft version of the IEEE 802.11n standard. The industry group that popularized wireless LANs expects 802.11n Draft 2.0 products with its seal of approval to be on the market before September. Those routers, access points, clients, and other products should work with other certified gear based on the draft standard as well as existing Wi-Fi gear that uses the 802.11a/b/g standards. They'll also need to pass security and multimedia quality tests. Eight labs in Spain, Taiwan, Japan, and the U.S. are now testing products, according to the industry group, which has about 300 member companies. The emerging 802.11n specification, which is more complicated than earlier wireless LAN standards because it involves the use of multiple antennas and a large amount of radio spectrum, has been a tough nut for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to crack. After watching lengthy fights over the proposed standard, the Wi-Fi Alliance last year jumped on Draft 2.0 of the standard as a common ground for vendors to build products that work together. The IEEE is still working on a final 802.11n specification and expects it to be finished in March 2009. There is no guarantee of interoperability between products based on Draft 2.0 and those using the final standard. Wi-Fi Alliance certification is intended to let consumers buy Draft 2.0 products from different vendors and know they will work together. However, some industry analysts don't expect enterprises to invest in the new generation of technology until the final standard is approved because they need to be sure they have a wide range of products to choose from over a long period of time. Both Draft 2.0 and the final standard are intended to run at more than 100Mbps, faster than many wired Ethernet connections. The products now being certified can deliver as much as five times the throughput and twice the range of earlier Wi-Fi gear, according to a Wi-Fi Alliance news release. In addition to working with other Draft 2.0 products, the certified products will comply with the group's WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) security specification and its WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) standard for ensuring high-quality voice, video, and gaming.
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The Nokia 9500 Communicator has been granted the IEEE 802-11b and WPA (Wireless Protected Access) certifications by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
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Intel on Thursday announced a component that&#39;s compatible with all Wi-Fi standards, which will let the chipmaker reach the full audience of individuals who want to wirelessly connect to local area networks.
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Columnist Craig J. Mathias takes a look at the Wi-Fi Alliance's unprecedented decision to develop a specification based on a draft of the 802.11n standard and concludes it was the right thing to do.
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New WiMax partners say they will blanket the U.S. with an open network on the 700MHz band.
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The Wi-Fi Alliance appears to have lost patience with vendors who it feels have been jumping the gun by launching wireless products using standards that have not been ratified by the Alliance.
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Newer Technology will show a wireless router and variety of adapters for 802.11b, g, and n networks.
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Collaborations to help spread WiMAX are still up in the air.
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Vendors in the WiMax forum are developing a variation that broadens the spectrum of the wireless technology.
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A second consortium puts in a bid for the faster 802.11n spec. But don't expect a battle over formats.
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NEC's LT265 can connect to an 802.11g wireless network, but getting it set up can be tricky.
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Centrino update supports 802.11 a, b, and g wireless, and offers improved security.
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With its eyes on the future of home entertainment and a relatively uncluttered band of radio spectrum, Cisco Systems Inc.'s Linksys division on Wednesday unveiled a line of IEEE 802.11g/a wireless LAN products.
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Analysis Prospects bright in the Wi-Fi arena
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Wireless Philadelphia, a nonprofit group formed by the city of Philadelphia, has okayed a Wi-Fi test network, opening the door for Earthlink to complete a 135-square-mile network that covers the city.