Wi-Fi Alliance's Interim Certification for Pre-802.11n

Author: Philip Solis, Principal Analyst, Mobile Broadband

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 16:23:12 EDT

The Wi-Fi Alliance has always maintained that it would not be involved with any interim certifications for 802.11n, like it did for Wi-Fi enhancements such as 802.11i and 802.11e.  Today, the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced that it is working on an interim certification.  Was this the right move?

The short answer is that it definitely is the right move.  Just look at what is going on there today.  Some behind-the-scenes testing between chipset vendors lays the groundwork for the pre-phase 1.  Phase 1 will test interoperability among products that comply with a draft 2.0.  Phase 2 will test interoperability for products that comply with the final version of the 802.11n standard.

For Phase 1, there are actually two possibilities.  Plan A is for Phase 1 testing to be based on a draft 2.0 that is ready by March 2007.  Plan B, however, is if the timeline for a draft 2.0 slips - then interoperability testing will be among products that comply with what is agreed upon so far for a potential draft 2.0.

Let's hope Plan A is successful.

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