Wireless access point vendors have frequently jumped the gun when it comes to selling products based on drafts of IEEE standards. They’re well aware that someone who launches a high-speed wireless product at just the right time can benefit from user interest in a faster product. But they also have to be careful about promising compliance with a standard that isn’t yet finished.
With 802.11n, the newest wireless networking standard for moving data at broadband speeds throughout a home, the same story is playing out. Engineers began discussing the standard for the successor to 802.11g in January, 2004. The new protocol promised a ten-fold boost in theoretical speeds using MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) technology that exploited several simultaneous data transfer channels at once.
The engineers quarreled and split into three different groups before agreeing to merge proposals in July 2005. Some early work was done in the spring of 2006, prompting companies such as Netgear to launch early pre-standard wireless access point products such as the RangeMax 240. The idea was that, upon ratification of the standard, the product could be easily updated through firmware and driver updates.
But analysts told consumers not to buy because of the likelihood of incompatibilities as the standard took shape. In the summer of 2006, a consumer backlash developed as the standards process dragged on. The various groups began doing interoperability tests on the 1.0 draft of the standard and began fixing bugs that led to complaints about interference and poor actual throughput.
By March 2007, the standards’ committee approved draft 2.0 of the 802.11n standard with a letter vote that carried 83.4 percent in favor. There are still 3,000 comments to be addressed, but engineers finally see a resolution coming.
The WiFi Alliance is confident enough about the 2.0 draft that it will begin the process of certifying 802.11n draft 2.0 products in June, meaning it will test for interoperability across a wide range of vendors, according to Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the 300-company group.
“There is momentum and we are very excited about that,” he said.
Now companies are confident they can launch products that will be software-upgradeable by the time the final standard is ratified in the fall of 2008, said Som Pal Choudhury, product line manager at Netgear. Intel is also proceeding with new versions of its wireless chips and will begin a “connects with Centrino” testing process, according to David Hoper, director of wireless technology in the Intel Mobile Platforms Group. Meanwhile, product vendors are working on smart wizards and other documentation that will make it easy for customers to upgrade their software from draft 2.0 to the final standard, according to Dan Kelly, director of marketing at D-Link.
“We are fairly certain there will not be major changes at this point,” Hoper said.
Of course, analysts aren’t quite ready to tell consumers it’s safe to go buy a draft 802.11n router. Ken Dulaney, an analyst at market researcher Gartner, says enterprises should hold off and consumers should ask for money-back guarantees on whether their products are going to be compatible. Now it’s up to the engineers to design draft 2.0 products that live up to the label of “WiFi certified” and don’t lead to large returns by consumers frustrated that their wireless networks don’t work as promised.
But at some point, as consumers get hooked on the higher speeds and wider ranges of 802.11n draft products, the experts think they’ll find new uses for high-speed home networks, such as moving around high-definition videos throughout the home.
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