Nortel Networks Ltd. and collaborating members of the Wi-Mesh Alliance said they plan to present a proposal for a new global mesh wireless local area networks standard to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 802.11 Task Group in San Francisco today.
The alliance said its proposal’s intent is to be extensible with the future 802.11n high throughput amendment, which will provide support for the existing worldwide Wi-Fi network installed base, while extending Wi-Fi network deployments within designated radio frequency spectrum.
Mesh technology offers a cost-effective way to extend WLAN coverage for businesses and consumers.
The Wi-Mesh Alliance seeks to find a mesh WLAN standard that will enable seamless communications for wireless users regardless of equipment vendor. Its proposal was developed under the guidelines of the IEEE Standards Association, which builds on existing and pending 802.11 protocols to maximize technology re-use and compatibility.
“The ever-expanding proliferation of wireless devices and communication services has made the development of a worldwide standard for mesh WLANs critical to their future success,” said Mark Whitton, vice president of Wireless Solutions at Nortel. “Wireless users expect secure seamless access anywhere, anytime, and the new standard proposed by the alliance is designed to enable mesh WLANs to meet those expectations as wireless communications continue to evolve.”
Other alliance members include Accton Technology Corp., ComNets RWTH, Aachen University, InterDigital
Communications Corp. and NextHop Technologies Inc.
