Wi-Fi Alliance Affirms Core Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n Program Tests Will Not Change for September Update

AUSTIN, Texas, July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wi-Fi Alliance hasannounced that it will not change the baseline requirements of its802.11n certification program, and plans to make only small optionaladditions to coincide with the finalization of the 802.11n standardlater this year. The updated test program will preserveinteroperability with more than 600 Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0products released since June 2007, while adding testing for someoptional features now included in the standard. This validation of theexisting certification program comes as the IEEE 802.11n standard isset for final approval within IEEE this September. Product testing tothe updated certification is expected to begin in late September.

"Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0 products have seen wideacceptance across consumer and enterprise markets. It's clear ourdecision to deliver a draft program has served the interests of themarket and Wi-Fi end users the world over," said Edgar Figueroa,executive director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "The finalization of the802.11n standard presents an opportunity for us to reaffirm ourcertification program and to implement additional testing of optionalfeatures while preserving interoperability."

"Interoperability across draft and final 802.11n-based products iswhat really matters as this certification program evolves to mirrordevelopments in the market," said Phil Solis, practice director at ABIResearch. "The Wi-Fi Alliance led the industry in 2007 by introducingits 802.11n draft 2.0 program, and is striking the right balance now byadding a few features without sacrificing compatibility withpreviously-certified products."

The 11n certification program will add support for interoperabilitytesting of some optional features in the approved 802.11n standard.Because all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED draft 2.0 products meet the corerequirements of - and interoperate with - the updated program, theywill be eligible to use the approved 802.11n logo without retesting.

ABI Research forecasts 11n shipments to reach 45 percent this yearand grow to nearly 60 percent in 2012. The more than 600 productscertified for draft 802.11n include computers, consumer electronicssuch as televisions and media servers, and consumer networking devices.Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0 has also extended deeply into theenterprise segment, with more than 100 enterprise-grade accesspoint/switch devices certified since 2007.

White papers and retailer information about 802.11n, as well as alist of all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0 products, are availableat www.wi-fi.org.

About the Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit industry association ofhundreds of leading companies devoted to the proliferation of Wi-Fitechnology across devices and market segments. With technologydevelopment, market building, and regulatory programs, the Wi-FiAlliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi, worldwide.

The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM) program was launched in March 2000. Itprovides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability andquality, and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi enabled products deliver thebest user experience. The Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 5,000product certifications to date, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fiproducts and services in new and established markets.

Wi-Fi , Wi-Fi Alliance , WMM , Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), theWi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, the Wi-Fi logo, and the Wi-Fi ZONE logo areregistered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance; Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM), Wi-FiProtected Setup(TM), Wi-Fi Multimedia(TM), and the Wi-Fi Alliance logoare trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Source: Wi-Fi Alliance