802.11g Slows Down

Moosifer writes "Computerworld reports that in order to step on fewer 802.11b toes, the IEEE has reduced the actual throughput of 802.11g in its latest (and allegedly final) draft. I think I might keep old firmware on my linksys AP and card so that I can at least pretend I have faster gear." It's been moved from 54Mbps all the way down to 10-20Mbps, more than just a slight change.

Comments

Calling all Trolls

[evilviper]

This is the part where you begin to post the "802.11g is Dying" troll all across slashdot...

Hey, if it's going to be newer, more expensive, with very little increase in speed, what's the point?

Uhh, besides that, I'd be willing to bet most manufacturers will just say "screw it", and give their cards the full speed anyhow, standard be-dammed.

Re:Calling all Trolls

[zbowling]

That is true. I bet a second standerd will popup if this happens. A 3rd party group (like lets say an Opensource movement company or other organization) that will be based on it but without the modification for b lans.

This sucks

[djward]

A lot of people have probably already invested a lot of money in 802.11g equipment because of the 54mbps rate, and now, if they have a mixed environment, will end up with a slower rate than they had with 802.11b (10mbps vs 11mbps). I guess this is the fault of the industry for making promises and shipping equipment before the standards are finalized, but this greatly shrinks the market for 802.11g upgrades.

[dons tin-foil hat] I wonder if the 802.11a proponents *ahem* persuaded the IEEE to do this because they might have lost a lot of invested time/money if 802.11g took over the world... [/tin-foil hat]

Re:ridiculous

[ocelotbob]

The headline is more than a bit sensationalist; 802.11g still tops out at 54mbps. It's just that in a network with 802.11b equipment, it'll throttle back to 10-20Mbps. It's not quite as bad as you think it is, but you still may want to look at getting a 3rd party hardware solution. If you've got legacy equipment, you may want to consider picking up an 802.11a hub for your high speed equipment. I always thought that apple was silly by offering just 802.11g when all the chipset vendors have said that they're going to be offering combo solutions. Hell, a combo solution, used properly, can provide speeds of over 100Mbps. Someone's just got to create multilink support, much like the old trick of getting 2+ phone lines for dialup and using multilink PPP.

Tough!

[sterno]

TS. It wasn't a ratified standard. Too bad. I mean seriously, if you implement non-standard systems, this is the price you pay. If you didn't point out to your customers that what you were selling them wasn't a ratified standard, then it's your butt in the sling when they complain.