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By Brad Smith
WirelessWeek - October 11, 2007
Is the next-generation Wi-Fi standard in trouble? We carried a news item in the last issue of this newsletter about the Wi-Fi Alliance certifying more than 90 devices using a draft version of 802.11n. Several readers called the alliance's statement "hype" and questioned how far along the compatibility testing is, as well as the future of the standard itself.
The British publication The Register carried an article not long ago saying the IEEE 802.11n working group faced "a significant threat" to the standard because of patents held by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The story said the CSIRO had not yet agreed to license its patents under the free and fair doctrine.
Some insiders in the 802.11n space think The Register's story may have blown things out of proportion and that CSIRO was quite likely to agree to license its patents. There hasn't been any formal word yet from the organization or the IEEE, although the IEEE working group has started voting on the third draft of the standard.
The Wi-Fi Alliance did not respond to requests for comment when asked about the CSIRO "threat."
This "threat" apparently doesn't bother analysts like Paulhwa Lee of ABI Research, who says enterprises are likely to start using draft 802.11n in equipment from Cisco Systems, Trapeze Networks and Meru Networks.
Recent announcements from companies such as Cisco Systems, Trapeze Networks and Meru Networks of enterprise-oriented products conforming to the draft 802.11n standard are a sign that the enterprise Wi-Fi market is poised for takeoff and already is taking off among consumers, according to new market data from ABI Research.
"The Draft N/MIMO consumer Wi-Fi access point market saw a dramatic upswing in 2Q07, nearly doubling in unit volume from 1Q07 to approximately 1 million units shipped during the second quarter," says Lee. "Draft N traction in the consumer Wi-Fi market is clearly strong and there are now indications that the enterprise Wi-Fi market is poised for Draft N adoption, as well."
Is the patent threat to 11n over-hyped? Perhaps.
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