The Wi-Fi Alliance will start with the certification of products supported in version n of the 802.11 standard one year before the final version of the standard be ready. That is, already in 2007.
The move aims to bring order to the market, avoid fragmentation and accelerate the distribution of products compatible with the latest version of wireless technology.
The commercialization of pre-standardized products has already started with the availability of equipment supported in the first draft of standard made available by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the body responsible for the process.
These developments motivated the Wi-Fi Alliance’s decision and anticipated product certification by about a year, as the standardization process for this new version of the technology will only be completed in 2008, one year later than originally planned.
According to a statement, it will be possible to certify the first pieces of equipment in March 2007, shortly after a new draft is made available by the IEEE.
«The combination of the delay in the standardization process and the fact that there are already products on the market made us think that waiting may not be in the best interest of the market.
The products marketed today are not interoperable and without that users will not have the best experience, «explains Frank Hanzlik, general manager of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
The movement has the support of the main players in the industry, also interested in the interoperability between equipment with different manufacturers.
As a rule, the Wi-Fi Alliance expects the technology standardization process to be completed in order to start product certification, however the attempt to advance with a kind of certification in two stages, already tested with 802.11i, is not new.
As at this point, the idea is to grant a certification in a pre-standardization phase of the technology, which will be revised when the standard is closed.
802.11n is an evolution from previous versions of the standard to Wi-Fi wireless technology that will allow a data transmission speed in the order of 108Mbps.
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