WiFi's High-Speed Compromise

The Wi-Fi Alliance has stepped in to put its official stamp on the high-speed 'pre-n' wireless LAN products now starting to proliferate in the small-office home-office (SOHO) market. The group now plans a two-stage WiFi certification program for products based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) 's multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) specification. The Alliance plans to start certifying products that implement baseline features of the specification in the first half of next year. Phase two will implement the ratified specification, now due around March 2008. The WiFi-ers hope to maintain interoperability between the two phases.