Will the New Wi-Fi Fly?

Since the approval of the original IEEE 802.11 standard and the increased use of the resulting Wi-Fi technology over the years, interest in wireless networking has grown rapidly. As is the case with other networking technologies, Wi-Fi users have sought faster IEEE 802.11 versions with longer transmission ranges. Because of this, users have eagerly awaited IEEE 802.11n, which promises higher speeds and longer ranges than earlier Wi-Fi versions. However, the technology has had a rocky standardization process. As is so often the case, two groups of vendors squared off over whose 802.11n approach would become the standard and thereby yield revenue and potential market dominance to the winner. Recently, though, the two sides have moved toward a compromise. However, there are still some unresolved issues, and the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) Working Group still hasn't approved the new technology as a standard