WI-FI IS LEAPING AHEAD

By D.E.Levine

The acceptance of the IEEE 802.11n wireless standard will accelerate major changes in Wi-Fi performance over the next 3 to 5 years.

Performance will jump to 300 bps and 150 Mps throughput and that will result in more use of Wi-Fi in both the personal and business sectors.

The 802.11n standard makes it possible for a range of high data rates that can be adapted to different functions and devices. More of the standard's optional performance features will appear in radio chips which can then be used to make RF signals more resilient and reliable.

Wi-Fi is being embedded in new devices, sensors, tracking tags and systems, medical monitoring equipment, consumer electronics et al. Using the 802.11w standard, messages from attackers can be disregarded instead of obeyed. Security policies in Wei-Fi networks are associated with a user not a port.

There will be more flexibility in querying providers, finding out if a user can use a particular provider and then securely joining that provider's network. A user's cellular subscriber identity will travel with them, enabling the user to make use of various Wi-Fi services.

Client and access points will cooperate in new and interesting ways once intelligence via new Wi-Fi management standard protocols. The 802.11k radio resource management standard will facilitate connecting to the best access point when moving away from the access point to which you're already connected. A Wi-Fi radio in any personal devices could link directly with other client devices instead of establishing a point-to-point link,

While nothing will happen immediately, development of new ways of connectivity are under development and will be developed and introduced over the next few years.