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Wireless
Industry Leaders Promote
Next-Generation
Wi
-Fi
Technology to Accelerate IEEE Standards Development
Enhanced
Wireless Consortium to Enable Ecosystem of
Interoperable, High-Speed Wireless LAN Solutions In
Advance of 802.11n Standard
Oct.
10, 2005
Twenty
seven Wi-Fi® industry leaders announced a
coalition formed to accelerate the IEEE 802.11n
standard development process and promote a technology
specification for next-generation wireless local area
networking (WLAN) products. By introducing a
specification with widespread industry support, the
Enhanced Wireless Consortium
(EWC) hopes to speed ratification of an 802.11n
standard, while enabling an ecosystem of
high-performance WLAN products built to a common set
of guidelines. This widely adopted specification will
benefit consumers by, among other things, ensuring the
interoperability of next-generation wireless products
across a variety of brands and platforms.
The
Enhanced Wireless Consortium has developed a
specification that is designed to enable consumers to
enjoy new levels of wireless performance, coverage and
interoperability prior to ratification of an 802.11n
standard. The EWC specification defines technologies
that address the PC and networking equipment market,
as well as emerging handheld and consumer electronic
applications. The
consortium has designed its specification to support
speeds of up to 600 Mbps, and is considering the
inclusion of other advanced technologies – including
Space Time Block Coding (STBC) and beamforming –
that will enable systems to deliver greater range for
wireless products across multiple market segments and
support advanced multimedia applications.
The
EWC will
make its draft product specification available for
public download and will provide implementation rights
to all silicon suppliers and system vendors who join
the organization. Among the current members are Airoha,
Apple, Atheros, Azimuth, Broadcom,
Buffalo
, Cisco Systems, Conexant,
D-Link,
Gateway, Intel Corporation, Lenovo, Linksys, LitePoint,
Marvell, Metalink, NETGEAR, Ralink, Realtek, SANYO,
Sony, Symbol Technologies, Toshiba, USRobotics,
WildPackets, Winbond and ZyDAS. If the EWC
specification is ratified by the IEEE, EWC members
have agreed to make their intellectual property (IP)
necessary to the specification available to all
parties on reasonable and non-discriminatory (
RAND
) terms.
Members
of the EWC
will
continue to work within the IEEE Task Group “N” to
facilitate a ratified 802.11n standard. Its
specification includes many elements of previous
proposals, which will accelerate the completion of a
merged proposal draft within the
official IEEE timeline.
Technical
Highlights
The
EWC specification comprises a number of technical
elements, including:
·
Mixed-mode
interoperability with 802.11a/b/g networks –
provides enhanced performance while maintaining
communication with legacy devices;
·
PHY transmission rates
up to 600Mbps – supports applications requiring high
data rates (such as transmitting multiple HDTV
streams), and reduces battery drain by minimizing the
time required to send and receive data streams;
·
Enhanced efficiency MAC
with frame aggregation – brings actual throughput
closer to the raw PHY rate, providing end users with
at least 100 Mbps application level bandwidth;
·
Use of 2.4GHz and/or
5GHz unlicensed bands – matches
the frequency plan of existing 802.11 devices;
·
20MHz and/or 40MHz
channel support – uses more of the wireless spectrum
when available to enhance performance;
·
Spatial multiplexing
modes for simultaneous transmission using 1 to 4
antennas – increases robustness of wireless
connections to support very high data rates;
·
Enhanced range via
multiple antennas and advanced coding – provides for
a wider coverage area with consistent wireless
speeds.
Addendum
of Quotes from EWC Members
Airoha
Technology Corporation
“Airoha
has been closely watching the status of the IEEE
802.11n standard and supports the EWC’s efforts to
speed its ratification,” said Michael Lu, CEO of
Airoha. “We feel that by bringing a widely-accepted
specification to the IEEE, the EWC is taking the lead
to hasten the standards process.”
Atheros
Communications, Inc.
“The
EWC specification combines the best features of the
TGn Sync and WWiSE proposals to accelerate agreement
within the IEEE. We believe the EWC is the catalyst
necessary to establish an IEEE standard that will
drive adoption of high-performance WLAN devices. Early
availability of interoperable products will benefit
consumers and, ultimately, the entire WLAN
industry,” said Craig Barratt, president and chief
executive officer of Atheros.
Azimuth
Systems
“As
the leader in Wi-Fi engineering test equipment,
Azimuth knows the importance of timely delivery of
standard tools in bringing new technology to
market,” said Jeff
Abramowitz, vice president of marketing for Azimuth
Systems. ”We
have been aggressively developing our next generation
test solutions and are eager to support the EWC’s
effort to accelerate the 802.11n standard.”
Broadcom
Corporation
“By
joining with other W-Fi leaders to create a
specification for high-performance interoperable
wireless solutions, Broadcom hopes to accelerate the
IEEE process,” said Michael Hurlston, general
manager of Broadcom's Home & Wireless Networking
Business Unit. “We intend to meet customer
demand for networked wireless products that
have the bandwidth and quality of service necessary to
deliver exciting new data, video, and voice services
in the home and the office.”
Buffalo
Inc.
“As
a leading Wi-Fi solution provider, Buffalo combines
state-of-the-art wireless technologies to make the
user’s experience easy and stable, while delivering
the highest performance,” said Kuniaki Saiki,
president of Buffalo Inc. “By joining the Enhanced
Wireless Consortium, we expect to accelerate the
introduction of high-speed, interoperable products and
further enrich the user experience in the home, small
office and enterprise.”
Cisco
Systems, Inc.
“Cisco
has a strong commitment to the standards process, and supports
the Enhanced Wireless Consortium and its goal of
helping accelerate 802.11n standardization,” said
Brett Galloway, vice president and general manager of
Cisco’s Wireless Networking Business Unit. ”We
believe that accelerating this effort is in the best
interest of customers as they continue to deploy
more advanced, content-rich services and
applications over their wireless networks.”
Conexant
Systems, Inc.
“Conexant
is a strong advocate of standards-based products, and
we joined the Enhanced Wireless Consortium to help
drive an industry-wide consensus on an 802.11n
specification,” said Chee Kwan, vice president and
general manager of Conexant’s Wireless Networking
business. “Achieving this important milestone
quickly will help to ensure the early availability of
interoperable, higher performance wireless LAN
products, which benefits both end-users and wireless
networking solutions providers.”
D-Link
Systems, Inc.
“Technology
users are best served when the technology designers,
developers and manufacturers work together to deliver
standards that meet a range of objectives like those
in the EWC specification, which embrace the needs of
the users in the long run,” said AJ Wang, chief
technology officer for D-Link. “The fundamental
principle for building industry standards is to create
the next generation of interoperable, performance,
range and security solutions in an open environment
for compatibility and variety, where the market is
right-sized through competition.”
Intel
Corporation
“Intel
is committed to advancing the adoption of standards,
and participation in the Enhanced Wireless Consortium
is one way we hope to accelerate the adoption of a
final IEEE 802.11n standard,” said Jim Johnson, vice
president and general manager of Intel’s Wireless
Networking Group. “By joining with numerous other
industry players, we hope to speed ratification of the
standard as well as jointly develop a common guideline
to deliver interoperable solutions in the interim.”
Lenovo
International
“Lenovo
is dedicated to investing in technology that enhances
the computing experience of our customers, as we’ve
demonstrated through our award-winning ThinkPad
notebooks and ThinkVantage Technologies,” said
Howard Dulany, worldwide marketing manager for
wireless products at Lenovo. “We’re looking
forward to working closely with the EWC on developing
wireless standards that create a more robust yet
simplified environment for mobile consumers and
workforces.”
Linksys,
a Division of Cisco Systems, Inc.
“Linksys
is committed to driving specifications that help
enhance the speed, range and security of
networking products for consumers, as standards
are essential to mass adoption and acceptance of any
new technology,” said Malachy Moynihan, Linksys Vice
President of Engineering and Product Marketing. “The
EWC’s efforts to advance WLAN technology
towards the industry’s ultimate goal of a 802.11n
standard will help provide the public with products
that simplify their lifestyle at home, on the
road or in the office.”
LitePoint
Corporation
“Users
of wireless products want standards. They want to be
free to pick the products that best meet their needs
without giving thought to interoperability. Through
the Enhanced Wireless Consortium, we will arrive at an
IEEE 802.11n standard sooner, giving users that
freedom,” said Benny Madsen, CEO of LitePoint.
“LitePoint, the leading supplier of one-box test
equipment for Wi-Fi and MIMO, will continue to support
the test requirements for emerging wireless
technologies. When the chipsets are ready, LitePoint
will be there with competitive test solutions.”
Marvell
“Consumers
are demanding increasingly complex products that
require higher data rates and expanded range. It is in
the best interest of the market to accelerate the
development of the 802.11n standard to meet this
demand,” said Dr.
Paramesh Gopi, General Manager of Marvell’s Embedded
and Emerging Business Unit. “Joint
development of the 802.11n spec between Marvell and
the other EWC members is the fastest path to reach a
decision on the new specification, and ultimately
deliver leading edge products into the hands of
consumers.”
Metalink
Broadband, Ltd.
“The
convergence of consumer electronics and PC worlds
requires a new grade of networking. Networks based on
802.11n are positioned to become the infrastructure
for the broadband home,” said Tzvika Shukhman,
chairman and CEO of Metalink. “We believe that the
establishment of the EWC will speed up the creation of
a successful standard for wireless LAN, enabling a
wide array of new, rich multimedia applications such
as the delivery of multiple HDTV streams throughout
the home.”
NETGEAR,
Inc.
“Our
customers are demanding innovation in wireless
networking to support the applications of tomorrow,
and multi-vendor interoperability is just as important
to them as speed, range, and security,” said Mark
Merrill, chief technology officer of NETGEAR. ”As
a leader in the networking industry enabling
connectivity for computing and consumer electronics
devices, we are pleased that our
technology partners are collaborating to
accelerate the realization of the next generation of
advanced wireless solutions that will be multi-vendor
interoperable.”
Ralink
Technology Corporation
“The
EWC brings together the best ideas from the 802.11n
task group for implementation, and we are happy to
participate” said Dr. Dennis Lo, senior vice
president of Ralink Technology. ”This
initiative will ultimately streamline the ratification
process by building a wide industry consensus, and will
broaden the WLAN market by bringing interoperable,
high-speed products to the multimedia market. In
the end, the consumer will win by having this
tremendous technology available sooner in a wide array
of wireless data, voice and video products.”
Realtek
Semiconductor Corp.
“We
are pleased with the establishment of the Enhanced
Wireless Consortium and believe that this
collaboration will speed the release of the 802.11n
standard,” said Alex Chiu, president of Realtek
Semiconductor. “This makes it possible for the WLAN
industry to accelerate development of wireless
technologies and speedily provide new-generation
interoperable, high-performance, and wide-coverage
wireless solutions that enable construction of the
digital home and offer the convenience of digital
living.”
Toshiba
“Toshiba
wants to contribute to standardization of the
next-generation wireless LAN, and EWC is clearly the
best forum for doing so,” said Mutsuhiro Arinobu,
director of Toshiba’s Corporate Research and
Development
Center
. “The EWC initiative is bringing the industry to a
consensus standard for WLAN that will boost speed and
range and offer improved usability to consumers. It
will provide a strong stimulus for growth and
development in PC, AV and handheld applications
markets.”
USRobotics
“USRobotics
believes in the adoption of standards to ensure the
highest level of vendor interoperability for our
customers. By joining the EWC and supporting the
specification within the IEEE, we hope to accelerate
the availability of next generation wireless solutions
to provide industry-leading performance, maximum
coverage and just as importantly, multi-vendor
interoperability,” said Joseph Hartnett, president
and CEO of USRobotics.
WildPackets
“This
vendor group represents a very strong presence in the
wireless industry, from chips to analyzers, forming
the necessary catalyst to bring cohesion to the
802.11n effort and accelerate wireless adoption.
WildPackets has always been aggressive in supporting
the manufacturing community in their development of
interoperable hardware to support new standards
through the visualization of the packets underlying
these standards,” said
Bill Northlich
, vice president of technology and product management
for WildPackets.
Winbond
Electronics Corp.
“The
next step in WLAN evolution is long overdue,” said
Jonathan Wang, AVP of Network Access Products at
Winbond. “The EWC brings new vigor to the
standardization process. The interoperable baseline
will enable creativity in WLAN technologies to serve
the particular needs of the PC, CE and mobile products
in a scalable fashion. As such, Winbond is eager to
share its wireless networking expertise with this
group interested in fostering a healthy diversity of
solution providers that will benefit consumers.”
ZyDAS
Technology Corporation
“The
EWC will help to build an interoperable specification
and accelerate the 802.11n standard building process.
As an 802.11 a/b/g chipsets provider, ZyDAS will keep
supporting the upcoming 802.11n standard and is glad
to join this constructive and productive group,”
said Wayne Hwang, president of ZyDAS.
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