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Draft n Gets Interoperability Showcase |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Thursday, 01 June 2006 |
Atheros and Broadcom plan to demonstrate the interoperability of their latest products based on the IEEE 802.11n Draft Specification in an effort to assuage fears they are jumping the gun on product releases.
The compatibility showcase will take place at Computex next week in Taiwan.
According tot a statement from the companies, the two have jointly conducted interoperability testing between Atheros' XSPAN and Broadcom. Intensi-fi chipsets over the past month.
The tests have verified that the wireless LAN (WLAN) solutions work together at throughput speeds greater than 100 Megabits-per-second (Mbps), using mandatory modes of the IEEE 802.11n specification (draft 1.0).
Products supporting the Draft n specification have come under attack from some sector of the industry such as analysts including Gartner who cautioned larger companies to avoid the products until the final specifications are settled sometime late next year. But the industry is impatient with the standard process which has seen the next generation Wi-Fi specifications bogged down in a series of delays as competing vendors vie to get their own technologies into the standards.
The Computex demonstration is the first in what is expected to be a series of interoperability tests conducted with leading wireless companies to broaden the scope of interoperable systems. Over the coming months, the testing will lay the groundwork for successful Wi-Fi Alliance testing when the organisation's certification process is finalised.
"The excellent performance demonstrated between Atheros and Broadcom devices shows that the 802.11n draft, when adhered to and properly implemented, supports multi-vendor interoperability," said Bill McFarland, chief technology officer of Atheros. "As the market moves toward these interoperable 802.11n draft chipsets, consumers will be able to purchase a wide range of networking gear from numerous vendors that interoperate at unprecedented speeds."
"Multi-vendor interoperability is the clear goal for next generation Wi-Fi because it alleviates the incompatibility and limited selection of products that plague users of proprietary products," said Bill Bunch, director of 802.11n product management for Broadcom's Home and Wireless Business Unit. "The progress towards interoperability is a strong validation that the draft 802.11n specification will deliver the benefits of a high-performance wireless ecosystem built on industry standards."
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