Wireless Connectivity

A recent post on PC Mag’s ForwardThinking blog by Michael J Miller, a technology strategist at Ziff Brothers Investments, takes the reader into the future of wireless connectivity. In this informative blog, Miller focuses heavily on emerging Wi-Fi standards that promise faster connections over longer distances.

Based on an interview with Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Edgar Figueroa at the recent Interop (News - Alert) show, the blogger discusses the progress as of late on the wireless networking front. The two talked about new Wi-Fi mandates and certifications that will allow mobile devices to connect seamlessly to Wi-Fi networks, as well improve voice over Wi-Fi and mirror content directly to a TV.

As per this piece, products based on the draft version of faster IEEE 802.11ac standard are already shipping. However, the Wi-Fi Alliance (News - Alert) has not yet certified any of them for interoperability. But, according to Figueroa, it should happen in the first half of next year, even though the official IEEE (News - Alert) ratification may take longer.

A similar thing took place with 802.11n, which was widely adopted long before the IEEE ratification of the standard. Furthermore, the FowardThinking blog post shows that 802.11ac will run only in the five GHz spectrum with a theoretical throughput of one Gigabit per second (Gbps) or more. By comparison, 802.11n uses both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands with a maximum data rate of 450 Mbps using multiple antennas.

The next Wi-Fi standard 802.11ad will utilize 60 GHz spectrum and offer up to six Gbps speed. Because it is in-room technology, the range covered is not long. “The idea here is to allow wireless docking, file synchronization and backup, and content sharing and streaming among multiple devices and displays with everything running fast enough that even gaming or HD video will work well,” Miller added.

While upcoming .11ad is still in development, it is expected to enter the market sometimes late next year or more likely, in 2014.

The discussion also touches upon other emerging technologies supported by the Wi-Fi Alliance. One such technology was Passpoint, which the group is pushing to allow mobile devices to authenticate with Wi-Fi networks without requiring user intervention, such as using a SIM card.