Knowledge's Blog

Although the wireless 802.11n standard has just recently been made official, IEEE has begun work on the next iteration of WiFi. The coming upgrade may deliver speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second by improving on the effeciency of existing technology, according to Electronista.

Don’t expect a revolution or a vast change in the way you use wireless. The IEEE 802.11ac standard, set to be in draft form by 2011, will mainly work with the current technology powering 802.11a. The new standard will continue to work on the 5.0Ghz band, but will provide larger channels for data throughput. Whereas current technology uses 20Mhz-wide channels, 802.11ac will be using either 40Mhz or 80Mhz-wide (and possibly 160Mhz) channels to deliver data. It’s the equivalent of adding a wide-mouth tab to your beer can, so your files will be able to flow more freely on your home network come 2012.

Of course, none of these specs are standardized as yet and they may be drastically change in the next few years. On top of that, a fatter pipe for wireless data throughput does not increase our actual internet connection speeds. For most home users, the relevancy of 802.11ac may depend on the expansion of robust fiber optic internet infastructure or an increase in large-file data streaming as well.

There’s been a lot of talk in 2009 about the next generation of wireless technology, known as 4G wireless broadband, but the current generation of 3G wireless technology is far from dead.

For many wireless operators, especially those that have built their networks using the global standard GSM, the current 3G wireless technology called HSPA still has some legs left.

And while many carriers are planning their 4G networks, hundreds of wireless providers throughout the world are also expected to upgrade existing network infrastructure with the latest versions of the 3G wireless technology to increase speeds and offer new services.

And because these network speeds will match current 4G speeds, consumers will likely see no difference in capability.

For this reason, the next few years will likely continue to be all about 3G technology. And 4G services, where they will be available, will likely appeal only to niche audiences.

“The average consumer doesn’t care about peak data rates or network acronyms,” said Dan Warren, the GSM Association’s director of technology. “They just care about the experience. They want to be able to watch YouTube or get live traffic updates on their smartphones. And they don’t care whether it’s a new network or a current network that is being upgraded.” Click here to read more.. »