An industry group of wireless networking companies said Tuesday it will start certifying next-generation routers and network cards in 2007, a year before official standards are expected.
Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, said that without a certification program, the market could have been fragmented by the growing number and variety of pre-standard "Draft N" or "Pre-N" products claiming faster speeds and greater range. The products take their names from the 802.11n standard.
As early as a month ago, the alliance, which ensures Wi-Fi products from different companies work together, indicated it would not certify the interoperability of the pre-N products. But delays within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the professional association which shepherds the standards process, prompted the Wi-Fi Alliance to rethink, Hanzlik said.
Currently, the IEEE is working on integrating thousands of comments and edits to a draft standard. Hanzlik said he expects to use the next version of the draft for testing and certification -- but that if the IEEE is still bogged down, the Wi-Fi Alliance will go ahead with the plan anyway. Then, when the IEEE approves a final 802.11n standard, the alliance will conduct a second phase of testing.
At all levels, industry players seemed pleased with the decision.
"This announcement will give 802.11n a really big shot in the arm," said Michael Hurlston, the vice president of chipset maker Broadcom Corp.'s wireless LAN division. "We're expecting a market shift in terms of market share away from standards a/b/g and towards n. We think this accelerates that process."
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