Wi Fi Standard is Finally Set

For a technology that’s main draw is being fast, 802.11n Wi-Fi was extremely slow in becoming a standard. It took so long that it wasn’t a standard at all until September 2009. That fact didn’t stop vendors from implementing it for several years beforehand however, which caused confusion and major upsets when networking gear that used draft standards from different suppliers wouldn’t necessarily work at the fastest possible speed when connected.

The process was never supposed to happen that way. But for years, the leading Wi-Fi hardware companies fought endlessly over the 802.11n protocol, which resulted in it taking five dramatic years for the standard to even come to fruition. The delay was never caused by the technology. Instead, the reasoing is a familiar But at long last, we will finally see interoperable 802.11n Wi-Fi access points, network routers and NICs (network interface cards). Vendors have promised that customers will now be able to update equipment built to the most recent draft 802.11n, 2008 and newer, to the new and final standard.

It won’t just be computer networks zooming along at high speeds for long, reports say, Soon, there will also be shipments of 802-11n-enabled TVs, set-top boxes, personal media players, digital still/video cameras and even mobile phones. Courtesy of computerworld.com