Atheros Communications chipset, which also uses beamforming instead of spatial multiplexing.
MIMO hardware generally shows only slight performance or range gains if the MIMO router is used with the conventional Wi-Fi hardware found in most laptops. This is one of the points against it with enterprises--to take full advantage of MIMO, companies would have to write off their built-in 802.11a/g client devices and buy MIMO-enabled laptop cards.
In return they should get significantly better range and throughput: the upcoming MIMO-based 802.11n standard is designed for theoretical throughput of over 200Mbps and a real-world throughput of at least 100Mbps. 802.11a/g theoretically runs at 54Mbps with real throughput at 25Mbps; 802.11b only realistically handles 5Mbps.
In September, Airgo began sampling a third-generation MIMO chip it says already meets these speed goals. The True MIMO Gen3 chip, which will be shipping in routers, laptops and other devices early next year, has a theoretical data rate of up to 240Mbps and actual throughput of over 120Mbps, says Airgo--faster than most wired Ethernet networks.
Such speeds might sound excessive, but they're needed for particular applications--particularly in the home, to start off with at least. "This is critical for video and consumer electronics, which need the higher throughput for HDTV or high-definition video," says Philip Solis, analyst with ABI Research. "This can also help link up the whole home, where signals typically have to go through multiple walls."
The equipment will also make it easier for users to run multiple services like Internet telephony and video transfer all at the same time. Industry observers believe this level of wireless connectivity will pave the way for new types of enterprise applications as well.
The lack of a standard doesn't worry manufacturers. "There's nothing to lose by shipping the MIMO products before 802.11n," said Airgo chief execuitve Greg Raleigh in a recent report, adding enterprises are "very open" to MIMO today.
Gateway has begun redesigning its notebooks to accommodate the additional antennas required by MIMO chipsets. Samsung is further along--in June the company said it would use Airgo's chipsets in upcoming versions of its X20 and X25 notebooks, instead of the Centrino chip bundle from Intel. Intel, for its part, recently outlined plans for incorporating MIMO into a future Centrino version.
Analysts say the zeal of hardware vendors is understandable, with such a huge market at stake. "When 802.11g products came along, market share shifted among Wi-Fi semiconductor companies. Those who came in faster with products got an early lead in the market," says Philip Solis, analyst with ABI Research. "802.11n will be almost like a new starting point. New players have everything to gain, and companies with the most market share now have everything to lose."
Political skullduggery
Nevertheless, many in the
industry see proprietary MIMO add-ons as little more than a con. "We are seeing
vendors try to cheat the public by releasing products early," says Gartner's
Dulaney. "The specification needs to be approved, and the products need to go
through the testing process before it's delivered to the market. People really
want interoperability."
Many people will find themselves paying extra for technology they don't need and in many cases won't work properly, Dulaney says. "Few people even use 802.11b to its full extent. A 10Mbpswireless LAN is fine," he says. "But if there's an 802.11a client around, it will drop back to a, and they won't even know it. People don't have spectrum analysers. They'll have the wool pulled over their eyes."
Something similar happened with 802.11g equipment in the home, Dulaney notes--the equipment could be dragged down to a fraction of its intended speed by a neighbours' 802.11b equipment. "In the long term, sure, we always need more bandwidth, but we're telling people not to worry about it for four or five years," Dulaney says.
Complicating matters further is that while the manufacturers are aggressively pushing their proprietary hardware, the standard is looking further and further away.
The IEEE formed the 802.11n Task Group (TGn) in January of 2004, and initially it didn't look as though finding common ground amongst the different proposals would be difficult, since they were all relatively similar. At that stage, the process was expected to be completed in late 2006.
A deadlock developed between the WWiSE (World-Wide Spectrum Efficiency) group, backed by Broadcom and Airgo, and TGn Sync, backed by Intel and Philips. In July the two groups said they'd work together with the third major group, MITMOT, on a joint proposal. The compromise raised hopes that a joint draft could be presented in November, with a final draft set for January.
The skulduggery hasn't stopped there, however, with a group of the biggest WLAN chipmakers--Intel, Broadcom, Atheros and Marvell--reportedly collaborating outside TGn on key interoperability aspects of the specification, which they plan to present to the IEEE by November. Marvell went on record defending the meetings, which have riled some on the official task force--notably Airgo--and even raised antitrust concerns.
Intel and friends upped the ante against Airgo last week when they formed a group called the Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC). Led by Intel, Broadcom, Marvell and Atheros, the group is the latest example of a long tradition in tech: The big guys, one way or another, usually end up calling the shots on standards.
The latest developments may be an attempt by the big, established chipmakers to keep Airgo-style spatial multiplexing from being an important part of the final standard, says analyst Solis. The turmoil may mean that a joint proposal won't arrive until January or later, which could push back the finished standard by months, well into 2007.
"It is a highly political game, it is about the positioning of the various vendors," says Gartner analyst Wollen. "Not all the vendors in the standardisation process have an interest in it going too quickly, since it could eat away at their current market."
If the standard arrives in 2007, big enterprise players such as Cisco won't get on board until around 2008, Wollen estimates: "We don't foresee 11n penetrating into the enterprise before 2010."
Play video
There are currently no comments for this post.