The Wi-Fi standards group has decided to increase the speed of the next wireless local-area network (LAN) standard to 600 Megabits per second, which one industry observer says will allow companies to connect two locations within the same city.
The Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) High Throughput Task Group voted to change its 802.11n (Wireless LAN Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications: Enhancements for Higher Throughput), which is expected to be finalized next year, to allow wireless connection speeds of up to 600 Mbps.
The IEEE 802.11g standard allows transfer rates of up to 54 Mbps in the 2.4GHz band, while 802.11b – which has been available since 1999 – allows 11 Mbps in the same band. Both 802.11b and 802.11g have ranges of up to 100 metres, but the IEEE is vague on the possible range of 802.11n.
Replacement for 10/100 cable?
The chairman of the IEEE 802.11n task group, Bruce Kraemer, would not answer questions from Communications & Networking on the proposed standard. In an e-mail replying to C&N’s questions, IEEE spokeswoman Nancy Vogtli said the range of 802.11n “would vary widely, depending on implementation.”
Vogtli added the data transfer rate “should decrease” as the distance from a client to an access point increases.
But offering 600 Mbps over a wireless connection is difficult, said Dave Borison, director of product management for Palo Alto, Calif.-based Airgo Networks Inc., which claims its True MIMO Gen 3 chipset allows transfer rates of up to 240 Mbps. “To get to that 600 Mbps is very complex.”
MIMO – multiple input multiple output – allows antennas to divide data streams into several different streams over the same frequency at the same time. Borison said it’s only possible to transfer 600 Mbps over three transmission streams.
Although the initial markets for 802.11n will be consumer and small office, Borison said corporate IT departments could eventually use 802.11n products instead of 10/100 Mbps cabling for their office LANs.
802.11n could be used to connect networks at two separate sites within the same city, said Greg Collins, senior director for wireless LAN research at the Dell’Oro group, a Redwood City, Calif.-based market research firm.
Dell’Oro predicts network equipment manufacturers will ship US$1 billion worth of 802.11n gear in 2007, but most of that will be to consumers who aren’t concerned about interoperability.
“They’re less concerned about interoperability and things like that, whereas an enterprise wants interoperability,” he said. “If they’re going to make a big investment, they don’t want to have to rip it out in a year or two years because it’s not compatible with anything.”
Corporations will not start buying the equipment until 2008, when PC manufacturers start shipping notebooks with 802.11n cards, Collins said. Wireless equipment using 802.11 protocols are typically used in Wi-Fi hotspots, corporate LANs and by consumers connecting portable devices to a high-speed Internet gateway. Collins predicts consumers will buy “pre-standard” 802.11n equipment next year, but corporate buyers will want to wait until the standard is ratified.