Beware possible 802.11n discrepancies

NetworkWorld.com | Wireless & Mobile Research Center | Update Your Profile Beware possible 802.11n discrepancies By Joanie Wexler A reader recently pinged me with an observation and a question about forthcoming 802.11n products. He pointed out that over the years, the wireless LAN industry has used the terms "802.11a," "802.11b" and "802.11g" to uniquely identify a combination of RF spectrum and a modulation technology. Enter 802.11n, which - unlike any of its predecessors - is capable of operating in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. He wondered if we need more specific terms now to identify products. Indeed, the term "802.11n" by itself doesn't define all the variables of a given solution. How do you know if a given vendor's solution operates in one or both bands? And if it operates in just one band, which band is it? Read full story Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at joanie@jwexler.com. SPONSORED BY CISCO SYSTEMS Learn the Benefits of 802.11n Get a crash course in 802.11n, the IEEE's latest WLAN specification. The soon-to-be standard promises to boost performance, reliability and power efficiency across wireless LANs. And the technology also promises to be backward compatible with 802.11a, b and g. Learn more today. Download this whitepaper now! RELATED NEWS: Wireless LAN vendor Aruba's revenue up, but still in red, 11/21/2007 Aruba Networks, which now bills itself as the second-largest wireless LAN vendor in the world, this week announced strong revenue growth for its ... 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