Standards body finally approves 802.11n

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has finally ratified the 802.11n wireless standard.

The standard was first proposed seven years ago and most manufacturers are now already shipping wireless routers and receivers on the standard. 802.11n allows Wi-Fi rates of at least 300Mb/s and looks set to become the new base level standard for wireless hardware.

“This was an extraordinarily wide-ranging technical challenge that required the sustained effort and concentration of a terrific variety of participants. When we started in 2002, many of the technologies addressed in 802.11n were university research topics and had not been implemented,” said Bruce Kraemer, chair of the IEEE Wireless LAN Working Group.

“The performance improvements achieved via IEEE 802.11n stand to transform the WLAN user experience, and ratification of the amendment sets the stage for a new wave of application innovation and creation of new market opportunities.”

The standard looks little changed from the predicted protocols and it is unlikely to cause manufacturers shipping draft 802.11n kit any compatibility problems. Some may require a small firmware upgrade but none have been issued as yet.

Paul Nikolich, IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee Chairman siad: “Everyone involved in the 802.11n process—and no one more than Bruce Kraemer, whose strong leadership has been instrumental from the start—deserves congratulations because this is a key data communications milestone and a good example of the consensus building environment 802 provides for its participants.”

“The amendment will enable a dramatic leap forward in WLAN scalability with only a modest associated rise in costs for the industry and end users.”