Wireless HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) has come a long way and is actually expected to hit the market in September but the price tag is expected to be a bit high.

The other technology, WirelessHD (WiHD), has gained the support of some big names in the industry but doesn’t currently have a release date in mind although a vague reference was made to 2008.
Via [arstechnica.com]

In the past IEEE members voted as individuals no matter what company they were affiliated with. Now each entity, ie vendors, research groups, universities, etc will have only one vote and thus limit the ability of one company to sway voting results. Paul Nikolich, Chairman of the 802.20 Committee hopes the change will push forward the standard decision.
Via [news.yahoo.com]

Eight laboratories around the globe have begun testing pre-standard products to see if they stick to WPA2 protocols and if they are backwards compatible with other 802.11 a/b/g WLAN products that have already earned certification.

Although IEEE’s 802.11n standard isn’t expected to be ratified until early 2009, these pre-certification products are expected to reap this year’s back-to-school dollars.
Via [crn.com]

At present, industry groups like the EICTA, are working hard to change France’s stance. Tony Graziano, EICTA’s director of technical and regulatory affairs, said his group “is of the view that the position from France is in conflict with Community law.” He called on France to stick to the earlier version of EN 301 893 and throw away its demand on the newer variant.
Via [techworld.com]

Part of the appeal of Wi-Fi is that it provides a cheap way to access the Internet. But widespread commercial deployment, according to Paul Budde of communication consultancy BuddeComm, will take two to three years. The answer could be in the hands of resellers. Casey said resellers need to see that “wireless is where the market is going and resellers have to go and play in this area to service consumer and enterprise demand.” He believes SMEs represent a large market as “these firms don’t have IT departments — it is difficult for them to get to grips with Wi-Fi, but resellers can come in and add value on a consulting basis.”

Jim Kellett, product manager at Internode, is confident that WiFi will have a bright future ahead in Australia. Bjorn Landfeldt, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and a member of Smart Internet research, agreed with Kellett’s view. “Wi-Fi is definitely going to be one of the fundamental components in building infrastructure in the future. A lot of major players are interested in ensuring the technology is of a high standard.”
Via [crn.com.au]

Last year, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced its plans to begin interoperability testing program for draft 2.0 equipment by June this year as well as certify and brand draft 2.0 compliant products, a reversal of a policy that only allowed testing of devices that comply with a final IEEE protocol.
Via [pcadvisor.co.uk]

The proposed “Gigabit WiMax” standard will employ multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology but the arrays will be larger to boost bandwidth. Cellular companies are banking on the new spec to enable “convergence” 4G as it would combine two parallel streams of wireless technology, i.e., 3G and 802.16. The protocol could also allow wireless providers to offer a range of services similar to those by wired networks, including video streaming, IPTV, and VoIP.
Via [arstechnica.com]

Because of its relatively slow speed, the specification is not appropriate for tracking scores of moving products in a standard warehouse but it is helpful for transmitting data directly to the Internet. With the use of lithium batteries, the battery life of RuBee radio tags is seen to last ten years or more.

The IEEE is encouraging “anyone interested in helping develop this standard” to be present at the February gathering. RuBee supporters include Tesco group in the U.K., Germany’s Metro chain, France-based Carrefour and BestBuy in the U.S. Chip makers, network equipment designers and systems developers like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sony, Panasonic, Motorola and NCR also back the development of the protocol.
Via [informationweek.com]

Judge Leonard Davis’ verdict also affirmed that WiFi routing gear maker Buffalo Technology has committed patent infringement. Unless it wins an appeal, the company could be required to pay no less than $1.5 million in damages to CSIRO.

Daniel J. Furniss of Townsend and Townsend and Crew, the law firm representing CSIRO, believes the decision could eventually translate to royalties being paid to the agency by over 100 companies. According to Furniss, CSIRO’s resolve to sue Buffalo ensued from the latter’s reluctance to discuss the agency’s claims. He did not give a specific number as to the amount of money CSIRO hopes to gain due to future license agreements.
Via [news.com.com]

1) The WLAN industry made the right move of supporting legacy 802.11b rather than establishing a new and potentially higher-performing frequency band at 5 GHz, which could cause incompatibility among products.

2) Improving throughput in environments filled with interference from neighboring wireless networks means increasing the number and size of channels. The 802.11n task group is using the 5 GHz spectrum to make this possible. Because of better channel utilization, most 802.11n products are expected to deliver data speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps.

3) There is a need for IEEE working groups and Wi-Fi Alliance to work in parallel, particularly with more and more products released into the market. Last year, the alliance began with the 802.11n certification process along with the IEEE 802.11n working group, a move that helped remove issues and differences as regards the standard.

4) Resolving latency problems is imperative in order for advanced applications like video streaming and VoIP to work on networks.

5) Any new protocol should manage packet overhead to make data transmission more efficient. IEEE 802.11n standard comes with frame aggregation capability, which allows for combining and sending a series of frames with one overhead frame without having to wait for each packet to be acknowledged individually.

6) Consensus is key to speedier agreement on standards. The creation of the Enhanced Wireless Consortium enabled competing camps to resolve technical issues and obtain consensus faster. The EWC came out with a draft that has gained universal acceptance with the IEEE 802.11n working group and is expected to be approved by early next year.

7) Wireless devices do not only refer to PCs anymore, thus a new wireless protocol must embrace other consumer electronic gadgets, which are used in tandem with home and corporate networks.

8) The demand for higher data transmission speeds means a need for more than one antenna and more than one radio stream, features that are inherent in draft 802.11n.
Via [ddj.com]

At this point, Draft N products cater to small businesses and homes requiring one access point installation. Hurlston expects uptake among enterprises to increase once the full standard is released or until Cisco comes out with its 802.11n APs. But with more products hitting the market, enterprise vendors may feel the need to move “ahead of the standard.”

Hurlston believes Draft N will enjoy higher popularity in 2007. Intel, he said, is hinting about offering draft 11n cards early next year. Also, the WiFi Alliance will start branding Draft N products, which will likely extend to a third to forty percent of notebooks by the latter half of 2007. The number will increase to more than half by the end of the following year.
Via [techworld.com]