With the technical specification in its expected final form (draft 8.2), the remaining step in the 802.11g standardization process is a review by the IEEE 802.11 Standards Board Review Committee. On June 12, the IEEE is scheduled to consider the 802.11g draft amendment and make it the law of the W-LAN. The Wi-Fi Alliance will begin 802.11g interoperability testing as soon as the IEEE ratifies the final standard.
The completion of the 802.11g specification is an important milestone. It marks the transition of 802.11g to the new mainstream wireless LAN standard.
“The past year’s progress towards 802.11g as an industry standard has been remarkable,” said Ken Furer, research analyst at market research firm IDC. “The IEEE is now just a signature cycle from approving the 802.11g standard, the Wi-Fi Alliance is poised to certify interoperability, and millions of pre-standard products are in customers’ hands ready for a standard’s compliant software upgrade. We expect 802.11g market momentum to accelerate with the approval of the standard.”
Solutions based on Broadcom’s 54g will (hopefully) be compatible and interchangeable with Intersil’s Prism GT, Prism Duette (802.11a/b/g), Athero’s tri-mode AR 5100x, Texas Instrument’s TNETW1130 (and perhaps a dozen others).
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