Wi-Fi Graduates to the Fast Lane

Transfer rates for wireless devices using the Wi-Fi, or 802.11b standard will increase up to 54 megabits per second under a new standard approved late this past Thursday. Wi-Fi's successor, 802.11g operates within the frequency spectrum utilized by existing products – making it fully backward compatible with hundreds of current devices. Under the former standard, transfer rates were limited to 11Mb per second.

Reports published by Reuters indicate that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) faced difficulty arbitrating an agreement on 802.11g between Texas Instruments and Intersil. However, a compromise was reached finding middle ground between each company's wish list of competing technologies that were to become the standard.

In late 2001, a new array of devices based upon “g” will make their way into the mainstream. It should be noted that 802.11a is not compatible with either standard given that it operates within the 5 gigahertz range rather than 2.4 gigahertz like its uniformly labeled cousins. 3Com, Cisco Systems, Intel, and Linksys are all expected to adopt the changes.