Wireless 802.11ac Certified by Wi-Fi Alliance – Let the Upgrading Begin!

WiFi use is exploding across the world and the need for a faster wireless standard just got a boost with the formal certification of 802.11ac by the Wi-Fi Alliance. According to the Alliance, “the IEEE 802.11ac standard, takes Wi-Fi capabilities to new levels of performance”:

• Higher data rates – Networks based on Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac can deliver data rates up to more than double those of a typical Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n network. For users, this means a network can support simultaneously streaming multiple HD-quality videos to multiple devices.
• Greater capacity – More devices can be simultaneously connected to a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac network without reducing performance.
• Reduced latency – Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac products can deliver a higher-quality user experience with applications such as gaming or streaming music, where even the slightest delay can have a detrimental impact.

All of this is good news for the network administrators struggling to handling all of the mobile devices sucking bandwidth from the clogged wireless n networks currently in place. So let the wireless upgrading begin. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance a number of products are now certified as part of the 802.11 test suite including:

• Broadcom BCM4360 5G WiFi Single Chip MAC/PHY/Radio for Clients and Routers
• Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
• Marvell Avastar 88W8897 AP Reference Design
• Marvell Avastar 88W8897 STA Reference Design
• MediaTek Dual Band 802.11ac Reference Access Point
• MediaTek Dual Band 802.11ac Reference STA
• Qualcomm® VIVE™ 802.11ac 3-stream Dual-band, Dual-concurrent Router
• Qualcomm® VIVE™ 802.11ac 3-stream, PCIe Client
• Realtek RTL8197D+RTL8188AR+RTL8192CE AP/Router
• Realtek RTL8812AE HMC card