Microsoft takes its own path with next-gen Wi-Fi

["Mark McCall" <mark@xxxxxxx>]

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2111628,00.html

Microsoft takes its own path with next-gen Wi-Fi
09:12 Tuesday 11th June 2002
Ben Charny, CNET News.com


Microsoft wants to make sure that next-generation Wi-Fi wireless
networking
equipment is backward compatible, and is using its Windows muscle to see
to
it
Microsoft said Monday that it isn't among those to fully back new
wireless
wunderkind 802.11a.

The software giant hasn't issued an important Windows system
certification
for any adapter cards that use just 802.11a, a new generation of
wireless
network, Microsoft said. Wireless networks using 802.11a operate up to
five
times as fast as networks based on an older standard, 802.11b. There
are
between 15 million and 30 million 802.11b networks in homes and offices
worldwide, and the technology is gaining momentum in the UK.

In avoiding the newer standard, Microsoft has repeated the same concern
that
has dogged the equipment based on 802.11a ever since the standard was
approved in 1999: The 802.11a standard isn't compatible with 802.11b
networks, which means an 802.11a modem card will not work with any
wireless
networks using 802.11b.

To ensure compatibility with the older wireless networks, Microsoft is
instead granting certification to equipment that uses both the 802.11a
and
802.11b standards on one device, according to Microsoft. Such "dual
mode"
adapter cards and access points are beginning to settle into the United
States market after nearly two years in development.

"The future for Wi-Fi is dual-mode or multi-mode," said Aaron
Vance, a
wireless analyst with Synergy Research. "Microsoft is probably doing
the
smart thing by laying off because it's not that far down the road that
we'll
see dual mode."

The certification is from the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) and
represents a Microsoft guarantee that the equipment can be used on any
personal computer with a Microsoft Windows operating system.

A Microsoft statement released on Monday indicates the company isn't
about
to budge in its stance, and has instead been working "closely with
industry
standards organisations and industry partners on this dual-band
requirement
to go into effect more broadly."

Nearly every major manufacturer of wireless LAN adapter cards intends
to
start selling these combination cards. Some companies, like Cisco
Systems,
have already made them available. Proxim, Cisco and Agere Systems are
among
those that have made standalone 802.11a products.

The lone product
But in a curious twist, Microsoft has granted approval to an 802.11a
alone
product. In November, the company gave its nod to a chipset from
Atheros
Communications. Atheros and Intersil are the two major chipmakers for
802.11
products.

But since that time, the software giant hasn't issued a similar approval
on
any other 802.11a products, a Microsoft representative said.

The representative didn't comment when asked why the company has given
its
sanction to one 802.11a card.

Allan Nogee, a wireless industry analyst with research and consulting
firm
In-Stat MDR, said "it looks like that one slipped through the
cracks." An
Atheros representative was not immediately available for comment.

"Atheros is the only one to get a certification," Nogee said.
"Microsoft
realised that it was a glitch. It didn't want to approve ones that
aren't
backward compatible."

Wireless LANs (local area networks) using the 802.11 standards let
anyone
with a laptop, PDA (personal digital assistant) and a modem get
wireless
Internet access from up to 300 feet away.

The 802.11b version runs on three channels in the unregulated 2.4GHz
spectrum, which is also used by cordless phones, microwave ovens and
many
Bluetooth products. Bluetooth is a wireless technology that uses radio
waves
to send data between devices.

Because the information is transmitted through the air, a person can
"capture" the information as it travels. The low cost of the
equipment has
helped cause an explosion in use in both homes and offices, analysts
say.

The 802.11a strain is an approved standard that broadcasts a more
powerful
signal, running on at least eight channels in the 5GHz spectrum. It
also
transfers data up to five times faster than 802.11b.

Networks based on 802.11a have not been available in Europe until
recently,
but Intel has begun selling the equipment in recent weeks following
deals
cut with the regulatory bodies of individual European countries such as
the
UK, France and Germany. Europe-wide regulatory approval is expected
later
this year.





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