Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 30, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The 802.11n standard for wireless LAN (WLAN) has not yet been finalised, but this is not slowing manufacturers down. More and more devices supporting the existing 802.11n Draft 2.0 specification are coming onto the market. Siemens, for example, has announced a HiPath Wireless solution. “We are convinced that any changes in the final standard will be software-only,” Marcus Birkl, Head of Sales for HiPath Wireless at Siemens Enterprise Communications, explains in response to a pressetext enquiry.
Because the hardware is expected to be able to remain unchanged, corresponding implementations are already worthwhile. Particularly noteworthy about the announced HiPath WLAN solution is that Siemens states it has solved the problem of supplying power to 802.11n access points through Power over Ethernet (PoE). Current 802.11n WLAN access points require around 18-20 watts of power, but the common 802.3af PoE standard for supplying power offers only just under 13 watts of effectively usable power. “We put corresponding added value into the development in order to bring the power requirement below this figure of around 13 watts,” Marcus Birkl states. Unlike other solutions, neither would the functionality be restricted, nor would multiple PoE ports have to be used.
A second reason why Siemens is already backing 802.11n is, as Birkl confirms, the competition. It too is making increasingly intensive use of the standard that has not yet been finalised. The netwrok specialist Netgear, for example, announced today, Tuesday, that it would present Next Gen Wireless-N, an 802.11n product family for wireless home networks, at CeBIT 2008. Also today, AVM announced the start of sales for the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick N. Plugged into a computer’s or laptop’s USB port, it enables a WLAN connection to be established. Alongside the older 802.11g, b and a standards, the 802.11n Draft 2.0 standard is also supported.
The WLAN standard 802.11n has existed as Draft 2.0 since March 2007; Draft 3.0 is currently being worked on at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Finalisation of the specifications is expected in mid-2009. PoE power supply could become considerably easier by then: 802.3at, a PoE standard offering up to 56 watts per port, is under development.
