The 802.11ac Wi-Fi Standard Goes Gigabit

One of the hottest topics on the mobility track at Interop last month was the new wireless LAN standard, 802.11ac. I've written about the technical capabilities of 802.11ac before, but the big question on everyone's mind at Interop was, "When is this going to happen in the enterprise, and how much is it going to cost me?"

From a standards standpoint, 802.11ac is essentially here--despite the fact that it will be several months before the actual IEEE standard is ratified. However, WiFi is a strange environment when it comes to standards. Normally CIOs are rightfully cautious about making investments in new technologies before the standards are set in stone. WiFi is different because we have the IEEE that develops the "standard," and the WiFi Alliance that "certifies interoperability."

Given my experience, I'm not particularly worried about the status of the IEEE standard so long as the WiFi Alliance's certification is in place. 

Read the rest of the article on No Jitter.