Wi-Fi alliance begins certification testing on 802.11n products

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 6/27/2007

802.11n is one step closer to becoming a consumer reality. The Wi-Fi Alliance's authorized test laboratories began testing products Monday, and, according to the industry group, Wi-Fi certified 802.11n draft 2.0 products are anticipated to arrive on store shelves this summer.

Wi-Fi certified 802.11n draft 2.0 products have been tested for interoperability across vendors, adherence to Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) security protocols, and backward compatibility with more than 3,500 Wi-Fi certified 802.11n a/b/g products.

The 802.11n wireless LAN technology has been a long time coming-- its IEEE certification has been plagued with delays for months, and the specification is now in its second draft. As the follow-up technology to 802.11g, the increase in broadband included in the 802.11n standard purports to enable wireless data transfer speeds around the home that are fast and reliable enough to support streaming high definition video and music. 

802.11n had been planned for standard ratification in early-to-mid 2007, but has since been pushed back to Q1 2008 at earliest after draft 1.0 of the specification encountered technical issues. 

Despite the problems, a number of companies have already begun making products for use with the 802.11n standard. Because of this, the alliance said it expects to see a "high demand" for certification testing. According to the alliance, products based on the new IEEE 802.11n draft deliver up to five times the throughput and up to twice the range of those based on previous standards.

Wi-Fi alliance authorized test laboratories are independent, ISO-accredited testing facilities, the group said.