New WiFi Specifications Have Been Approved

While the present WiFi standard (802.11g) enables users to send data only as fast as 54 MBps, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) succeeded in finally validating the preliminary specifications for the i802.11n standard. This 802.11n technology is an extension of the 802.11 wireless standards which adds multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and will allow users to send information ten times faster than the current 802.11g standard. Adding MIMO support will also mean that the networks will offer wider coverage. The technique makes use of "multi-path" interference that might once have been minimized to drive up the network's range. So basically, what this MIMO-based WiFi will offer is both faster speeds and wider coverage, but these devices won't come cheap, at least in the beginning.

Still, there are still several problems that need to be fine-tuned and, most likely, this standard will be ready to put into use as of next year, after it has undergone updates and reviews. For the time being, Broadcom is the first WiFi chip supplier for this 802.11n standard to announce the prospect of producing compatible solutions. According to the company, just a basic firmware update should be enough to transform their current Intensi-fi line of products into i802.11n-compatible devices, as soon as the final specifications will be established.

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