DENVER-Wi-Fi technology should take another step forward now that a joint proposal is under way for the 802.11n wireless standards proposal. Representatives from TGn Synch, WWiSE and MitMot decided at an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. task group meeting in San Francisco in July to develop the joint proposal. The proposal supporters plan to submit the first draft to the IEEE in September in Anaheim, Calif., while the final submission is scheduled for a confirmation vote in November in Vancouver, Wash.
Industry analysts expect the 802.11n specification to help facilitate more wireless network voice and video applications because it will support data rates of up to 600 megabits per second using multiple input, multiple output technology. The standard specification seemed fated to an eternal tug-of-war between the two major companies conducting research, TGn Synch and WWiSE. TGn Synch is backed by Intel Corp., Qualcomm Inc., Nortel Networks Ltd. and others, while WWiSE has support from Texas Instruments Inc., Broadcom Corp., Motorola Inc. and others. TGn Synch won a confirmation vote in February, but could not garner the required 75-percent approval to move ahead as the official 802.11n draft.
The proposal team plans to hold weekly conference calls and is set to meet this month in Japan and again in October.
Analysts expect the enhanced Wi-Fi technology to hit the marketplace in the second half of 2007.
