Hinting at Apple's next-generation AirPort products
By Katie Marsal
Special Report: The next-generation Wi-Fi specification expected to begin making its way into Apple Computer's AirPort wireless products next year could offer raw data rates that are more than five times faster than today's wireless products.
The emerging 802.11n specification -- the successor to 802.11g -- will differ from its predecessors in that it will provide for a variety of "optional modes" and configurations that dictate different maximum raw data rates, according to a white paper released this week by Apple wireless chip supplier Broadcom.
These optional modes will enable the emerging standard to provide baseline performance parameters for all 802.11n devices, while allowing hardware manufacturers to enhance or tune capabilities to accommodate different applications and price points.
With every possible option enabled, 802.11n could offer raw data rates up to 600 Mbps, the company said. However, most WLAN hardware will not need to support every option, and therefore most 802.11n hardware is expected to advocate support for raw data rates of up to 300 Mbps.
Demand for Wi-Fi technologies has experienced phenomenal growth during the past several years, evolving quickly from novelty into necessity. As a measure of this expansion, WLAN chipset shipments in 2005 surpassed the 100-million-unit mark, a more than tenfold increase from 2001 shipments of less than 10 million units.
So far, demand for the technology has been driven primarily by users connecting notebook computers to networks at work and to the Internet at home as well as at coffee shops, airports, hotels, and other mobile gathering places. As a result, Wi-Fi technology is most commonly found in notebook computers and Internet access devices such as routers and DSL or cable modems. In fact, more than 90 percent of all notebook computers now ship with built-in WLAN, according to Broadcom.
Courtesy
Special Report: The next-generation Wi-Fi specification expected to begin making its way into Apple Computer's AirPort wireless products next year could offer raw data rates that are more than five times faster than today's wireless products.
The emerging 802.11n specification -- the successor to 802.11g -- will differ from its predecessors in that it will provide for a variety of "optional modes" and configurations that dictate different maximum raw data rates, according to a white paper released this week by Apple wireless chip supplier Broadcom.
These optional modes will enable the emerging standard to provide baseline performance parameters for all 802.11n devices, while allowing hardware manufacturers to enhance or tune capabilities to accommodate different applications and price points.
With every possible option enabled, 802.11n could offer raw data rates up to 600 Mbps, the company said. However, most WLAN hardware will not need to support every option, and therefore most 802.11n hardware is expected to advocate support for raw data rates of up to 300 Mbps.
Demand for Wi-Fi technologies has experienced phenomenal growth during the past several years, evolving quickly from novelty into necessity. As a measure of this expansion, WLAN chipset shipments in 2005 surpassed the 100-million-unit mark, a more than tenfold increase from 2001 shipments of less than 10 million units.
So far, demand for the technology has been driven primarily by users connecting notebook computers to networks at work and to the Internet at home as well as at coffee shops, airports, hotels, and other mobile gathering places. As a result, Wi-Fi technology is most commonly found in notebook computers and Internet access devices such as routers and DSL or cable modems. In fact, more than 90 percent of all notebook computers now ship with built-in WLAN, according to Broadcom.
Courtesy
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