Wi-Fi Alliance Launches 802.11n Certification Program

Now that the latest, fastest and final 802.11n WiFi standard is up and running with the blessing of the I-EEE, the Wi-Fi Alliance is now testing and certifying products that use the networking standard with a colorful new logo and taglines.

 

The program is intended to help both enterprise and consumer users of 802.11n-infused wares distinguish between products of different speeds and throughput capacities.

 

Also for the first time, the Wi-Fi alliance is testing and labeling 802.11n products with special optional enhancements, including:

 

 

 

“I think that consumers are interested in these tagline distinctions,” said Sarah Morris, marketing manager for the Wi-Fi Alliance. “It’s also big news for enterprise users – a lot of times the WiFi (News - Alert) certified label is a checkpoint. Network managers want to know these features are included in the testing.”

 

In addition to supporting a wide range of devices tuned for varying performance criteria, the official “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n logo program” removes the term “draft” from the logo.

 

Devices with particular feature sets may now use taglines in conjunction with the logo. For example, devices can now be designated “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED dual-stream n” or “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED multi-stream n” to indicate that they have passed tests for specific performance-enhancing features. The Wi-Fi Alliance (News - Alert) also published a matrix that outlines product features for vendors to outline frequency band and spatial stream support of a particular product.

 

“Given the wide array of 802.11n devices now emerging, and their varying capabilities,” said Victoria Fodale, senior analyst and market intelligence manager at In-Stat (News - Alert), “the launch of an updated WiFi certification program is an important next step for the industry.”