IEEE Developments in Wireless Networking

JamesAlfaro writes "After much wrangling between opposing interests among the members of the IEEE, a first draft for the Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11n specification received approval in a Thursday meeting. Final ratification of the standard is not expected until next year." Relatedly, judgecorp writes "The IEEE has disbanded its working group on ultrawideband. They are leaving the marketplace to decide between two competing approaches." From the article: "Freescale, first to the market with UWB products, believes its headstart will give it a long-term victory, while WiMedia, with the backing of industry heavyweights including Intel and Microsoft, reckons its punch will eventually win through, even without a formal IEEE standard."

Comments

Re:Not needed for VoIP

[tpgp]

I get 54Mbps on WiFi now. That's more than fast enough for VoIP.

Throughput is not the only requirements for VOIP.

From the article:

Another technology called Space Time Block Coding (STBC) will reduce signal dropout by using multiple antennas for redundancy.

This technology in particular is key to enhancing the VoIP user experience.

The article also mentions power management improvements (for devices running on batteries - like cell phones), longer range and better collision management.

Together, these would make a significant difference to VOIP - even if Mbps were lower.

Re:Pre-n compatiblity

[amazon10x]

I found a page about being unable to upgrade the firmware to fix it:

http://www.thechannelinsider.com/article2/0,1895,1 754056,00.asp

Towards the end of the article:
Making matters even more problematic is that, unlike 802.11g, where many early devices could be upgraded to the real standard with a firmware upgrade, that's less likely to be the case with the pre-N MIMO devices, depending on who wins the standard war.

Relevant UWB Link

[writertype]

Given that the CNET link above seems tied to the 802.11n standard, here's a link on the whole IEEE UWB story, from ExtremeTech.

UWB Standards Group Calls It Quits "

Unable to resolve a deadlock between two competing proposals, the IEEE working group responsible for the ultrawideband technology threw in the towel Thursday.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.3a task group (TG3a), which oversaw the formation of the UWB standard agreed to withdraw the Jan. 2003 project authorization request that formed the group. Instead, the two competing technologies - MB-OFDM, championed by the Intel-led WiMedia Forum, and DS-UWB, promoted by Freescale Semiconductor and its UWB Forum - will be left to fight it out in the marketplace.