802.11n ratified at last

Despite it having been available in networking kit and laptops for years already, the 802.11n wifi standard has only just been ratified by standards body the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).

The authority released its announcement on Monday, ending a seven-year effort to finalise the next generation wifi standard.

The 560 page 802.11n amendment 2009 is designed to enable rollout of significantly more scalable wireless local area networks that deliver ten-fold-greater data rates than previously defined while ensuring co-existence with legacy systems and security implementations.

“This was an extraordinarily wide-ranging technical challenge that required the sustained effort and concentration of a terrific variety of participants. When we started in 2002, many of the technologies addressed in 802.11n were university research topics and had not been implemented,” said Bruce Kraemer, chair of the IEEE Wireless LAN Working Group.

Wireless networks based on IEEE 802.11 are already widely deployed, with more than one million devices shipping per day, the IEEE said.