802.11n
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
expected mid-2007 2.4 GHz 200 Mbit/s 540 Mbit/s 50 m
In January 2004 IEEE announced that it had formed a new 802.11 Task Group (TGn) to develop a new amendment to the 802.11 standard for wireless local-area networks. The real data throughput is estimated to reach a theoretical 540 Mbit/s (which may require an even higher raw data rate at the physical layer), and should be up to 100 times faster than 802.11b, and well over 10 times faster than 802.11a or 802.11g. It is projected that 802.11n will also offer a better operating distance than current networks.
There were two competing proposals of the 802.11n standard: WWiSE (World-Wide Spectrum Efficiency), backed by companies including Broadcom, and TGn Sync backed by Intel and Philips.
Previous competitors TGn Sync, WWiSE, and a third group, MITMOT, said in late July 2005 that they would merge their respective proposals as a draft which would be sent to the IEEE in September; a final version will be submitted in November. The standardization process is expected to be completed by the second half of 2006.
802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output). MIMO uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to allow for increased data throughput through spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity, perhaps through coding schemes like Alamouti coding.
The Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC)[1] was formed to help accelerate the IEEE 802.11n development process and promote a technology specification for interoperability of next-generation wireless local area networking (WLAN) products.
On January 19, 2006, the IEEE 802.11n Task Group approved the Joint Proposal's specification, based on EWC's specification as the confirmed 802.11n proposal.
At the March 2006 meeting, the IEEE 802.11 Working Group sent the 802.11n Draft to its first letter ballot, which means that the 500+ 802.11 voters get to review the document and suggest bugfixes, changes and improvements.
On May 2, 2006, the IEEE 802.11 Working Group voted not to forward Draft 1.0 of the proposed 802.11n standard for a sponsor ballot. Only 46.6% voted to accept the proposal. To proceed to the next step in the IEEE process, a majority vote of 75% is required. This letter ballot also generated approximately 12000 comments -- much more than anticipated.
According to the IEEE 802.11 Working Group Project Timelines,[2] the 802.11n standard is not due for final approval until July 2007.