Advances in WLAN QoS for 802.11: an overview

After passing the letter ballot earlier this year, 802.11e is close to final approval. It is widely expected that this QoS enhancement for 802.11 WLAN will enable a huge market for AV transmission in WLAN-based home networks, as well as applications like VoIP in hot-spots. In this paper, along with an overview of the emerging 802.11e technology, a series of important questions are addressed, including why WLAN QoS and 11e are desired, why there are two QoS mechanisms in 11e, what the critical new features in 11e are and why, and when the upcoming new standard is expected to obtain final approval.