802.11n WiFi standard approved
By Michael W. Jones
It seems like it has already been around forever, but up until now it has just been a draft. The faster speed and stronger signal of 802.11n wireless has finally been approved as a standard.
Final ratification of 802.11n, already the default new wireless networking standard, came yesterday. The WiFi standard, often known simply as “n” is capable of delivering throughput speeds up to 300 megabits per second. It took almost exactly seven years from the day it was officially conceived to become an actual standard, and six years from the first draft version. The standard had been through a over a dozen draft versions before its approval. News of the ratification came through a blog post which contained an e-mail sent by Bruce Kraemer, chairman of the 802.11n Task Group, to task group members. The task force issued an official press release hours later, according to a CNET story.
IEEE 802.11n-2009 is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11-2007 wireless networking standard to improve network throughput over previous standards, such as 802.11b and 802.11g, with a significant increase in the maximum raw, OSI physical layer (PHY) data rate from 54 Mbit/s to a maximum of 600 Mbit/s. The n standard overtook the older g standard in popularity a few years after the draft standard was announced, based simply on increased speed and clarity of signal.
It is meaningful that, according to the WiFi Alliance, virtually all of the existing Wireless-Draft-N equipment will be upgradeable to meet the final 802.11n specs. The 802.11n Task Group is part of the 802.11 Working Group, which oversees WLAN (wireless local-area network) standards. Task group members include the majority of Wi-Fi chipmakers, software developers, and equipment OEM vendors.
The process is a little confusing to the layman, with draft-spec equipment becoming a de facto standard long before approval of the specification becomes official, but the process allows the draft to be thoroughly tested in the real world before the standard is approved. With virtually all the players in the field on board during the process, the production of a workable and popular standard is almost guaranteed.
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