Tomorrow's whacky wireless world

A new backwards-compatible 802.11g standard that could boost Wifi data rates to 54Mbits/sec was drafted by an Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) committee in the US while Comdex was in full swing. But, contrary to reports that the standard was agreed, it is unlikely to be ratified until late next year.

It has further confused an already bewildering set of standards and specs, complicated yet more by the fact that vendors are pushing proprietary variations. A fully updated breakdown will appear in the online edition of the draft but here are the most important 802.11 varieties:

11b: Dominant today, rated 11Mbits/sec. Uses crowded 2.4GHz band. Access points getting smaller and cheaper by the day.

11g: Uses same band as 11b. Rated initially at 22Mbits/sec, rising to 54Mbits/sec. IEEE has not simplified matters by endorsing two quite different technologies for the standard. Some vendors are jumping the gun on 11g by offering 22Mbits/sec systems.

11a: Uses the 5GHz band to gain data rates up to 54Mbits/sec. Not yet approved for Europe, which is properly concerned about minimising power use. Proprietary 11a variations rated at 72Mbits/sec; Proxim is offering 102Mbits/sec.

Proxim has said that it will sell its 11a kit to selected sites, such as hospitals, in the UK because it already conforms to European wishes and can be flash upgraded when the standard is approved here.

The company's Harmony range is designed for future proofing. Device makers are following suit by sticking wireless functionality into PC Card slots rather than hard-wiring it.

Two in particular are about to be launched in the UK: Toshiba's Magnia S^G20 Linux-based 'instant network' server; and an Actiontec home networking kit with a slot-based home gateway.

But the various standards (plus third-generation and Bluetooth) can be seen as opportunities rather than problems, offering a choice of channels and service levels.

There were signs at Comdex of a future of multi-function wireless modules supporting a variety of standards. Swedish company A Brand New World offered a combined GPRS/GSM and 802.11b shell for the Compaq iPaq; still more versatile was a Bluetooth iPaq shell using a chip from Cambridge Silicon Radio, with a spare CF slot that could be used for a Wifi or a cellular module.

This versatility is getting down to the chip level. Spirea and Embedded Wireless Devices announced a deal to develop a two-chip module supporting Bluetooth, and 802.11 flavours a and b, as well as the European Hiperlan 2 standard.

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