Wireless LANs to get up to speed at show
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LAS VEGAS - The introductions surrounding high-speed wireless LAN products at Comdex this week will have more the feel of a tailgate party than a formal coming-out event.
While Microsoft was expected to make a glittery debut Sunday with its Tablet PC software platform (see story), most of the new technology will be aired through hands-on demonstrations on the show floor.
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Intel, Proxim and TDK will be among the companies unveiling or previewing wireless LAN base stations, network interface cards (NIC) and other devices based on the 802.11a standard. The 802.11a standard supports use of the 5-GHz radio band and bandwidth of 54M bit/sec - five times that of today's 802.11b products.
Vendors will demonstrate how some of their products will even handle video and other multimedia applications, as well as file transfers that would choke existing 802.11b products.
The chief 802.11a drumbeater this week will be the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), a trade group that will host a number of demonstrations at its booth. WECA tests for compatibility among wireless LAN products, granting them the "Wi-Fi" brand when they pass muster. The group recently said the brand-name for the 5-GHz products will be "Wi-Fi5," and testing will start early next year.
Product parade
Intel will release its Pro/Wireless 5000 LAN products, which were first announced on Sept. 11. This product suite includes network access points (or base stations), adapters for notebooks and desktop PCs, and a mini-PC adapter for handheld devices. The NICs let client devices network with each other in what are called ad hoc networks, or link with an access point, which can be connected to a wired LAN.
Proxim will round out its high-speed wireless LAN portfolio by releasing the Harmony 802.11a access point. In October, Proxim released a NIC for client devices with a 32-bit CardBus slot. The company will also tout proprietary code that can boost bandwidth to about 100M bit/sec.
TDK is taking a similar tack with CardBus and mini-PCI cards that support the 802.11a maximum of 54M bit/sec, but have a special "turbo mode" that jumps it to 72M bit/sec.
At least two vendors, Agere Systems and Cisco, may not be showing full-blown 802.11a products, but they will be talking up what's in the works. Cisco will give users tips on securing their wireless networks and announce that it is strengthening its Aironet wireless LAN security offering. The company is awaiting 5-GHz chipsets from its Radiata subsidiary.
Agere, a Lucent spinoff, will lay out its 802.11a roadmap and announce free software that enhances security for users of its current ORiNICO-based wireless LAN products. The company will also display its AP-2000 wireless LAN access point, which is designed to let 802.11b users migrate to 802.11a.
One key feature of the AP-2000 is its use of the Windows XP operating system, with built-in support for the advanced, wireless security features found in the draft IEEE 802.11x standard.
Chipping away at prices
While 802.11a nets will have an obvious speed edge over existing wireless LANs, price may also be a consideration.
NICs are expected to sell for $180 to $230, which means companies can buy wireless LANs that are five times as fast as today's for only about twice the price.
"That's why we think the market is going to shift to [802.11a] LANs [from 802.11b LANs] pretty quickly," says Rich Redelfs, CEO of Atheros, the only chipmaker shipping 802.11a chipsets in quantity. That will change soon, and the increased number of chip sources should contribute to competitive 802.11a product prices.
Intersil, the dominant chipmaker in the 802.11b market, announced in June that it will start shipping samples of its 54M-bit/sec Indigo chipset by year-end.
Another chipmaker, Resonext Communications, also plans to begin shipping samples of its 802.11a chipset by year-end.
Chip vendors are vying to pack more features into their chips, streamline on-chip processes to make them faster and simpler, and cut power demands. They are also trying to boost performance and range by tweaking antennas, and by improving on-chip signal quality and the Media Access Control-layer code.
Market research firm IDC expects 802.11a to catch on fast, surpassing 802.11a in sales by 2004, when the market is expected to hit $2.7 billion.
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