D-Link Latest Vendor To Announce MIMO WLAN Equipment

Wireless LAN vendor D-Link Tuesday announced its line of WLAN equipment for small office and home users that uses Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) technology to increase speed and range.

Similar equipment already is available from vendors such as Belkin and Linksys and another high-visibility vendor, Netgear, has said it also will release MIMO equipment. Vendors are claiming that MIMO, which uses multiple antennas to intelligently send and receive signals, increases both range and speed by several times.

In a statement, the company said its version of MIMO will use "beamforming" that will focus the signal on the target device.

MIMO is expected to be part of the 802.11n standard, but that standard isn't expected to be approved for at least two years. In the meantime, there are three separate proposals for 802.11n and controversy about the precise technical nature of MIMO is also starting to emerge as more vendors introduce MIMO equipment.

D-Link said its SuperG with MIMO router and PC Card products will be available in mid-February. The router will cost $149 and the PC Card will cost $99.