IEEE Finally Approves 802.11n Standard

Seven years after deliberations began for a WLAN standard capable of higher speeds than the 802.11g standard, the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee ratifies 802.11n-2009.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers announced Sept. 14 that it has ratified the 802.11n-2009 WLAN standard. The new wireless standard is capable of higher speeds than the existing 802.11g standard, "while ensuring coexistence with legacy systems and security implementations," IEEE said in a statement Sept. 11.

Although wireless manufacturers have been making 802.11n products for several years, the standard has taken more than seven years to win official IEEE approval.

"This was an extraordinarily wide-ranging technical challenge that required the sustained effort and concentration of a terrific variety of participants," Bruce Kraemer, chair of the IEEE Wireless LAN Working Group, said in the statement. "When we started in 2002, many of the technologies addressed in 802.11n were university research topics and had not been implemented."

In addition to greater wireless speeds, the 560-page 802.11n amendment-WLAN Enhancements for Higher Throughput-also enhances "quality of service, reliability, range optimization, device link options, network management and security," IEEE said.

According to IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee Chairman Paul Nikolich, the new standard will allow for a "dramatic leap forward in WLAN scalability with only a modest associated rise in costs for the industry and end users."

Publication of the amendment is scheduled for mid-October.