Who Needs A Standards Body When You Just Want A Standard?

from the standardize-this dept

Tue, Aug 29th 2006 2:39pm — Carlo Longino

The Wi-Fi Alliance says that it's tired of waiting on the IEEE to approve the final version of the 802.11n standard for next-generation WiFi, and will begin offering a preliminary certification of products based on the draft of the standard that's awaiting approval. There's been plenty of so-called "draft-N" or "pre-N" equipment available for a while, but it's got a lot of incompatibility issues among different manufacturers. The Wi-Fi Alliance says that given all this equipment that's already available, consumers need some help in determining which pieces of it will be able to work together, and the IEEE's plans to not finally approve the spec until early 2008 simply aren't feasible. Once again, this highlights the problems of the current wireless standards process. Having open standards is obviously a good thing, but when the process is so drawn out, open to interference, or unable to create consensus that it falls apart, who is it helping?

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10 Comments

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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 29 Aug 2006 @ 2:50pm

Who is it helping?
The telco's! Holding back the Wi-Fi revolution!
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Me, Myself, and I, 29 Aug 2006 @ 3:08pm

reminds me of...
a good lil' show called ghost in the shell. the whole cyber-everything and global wireless internet is a great idea, but if you have watched the show, it does present a few feasable problems with such a world

my advice, brain-internet would be cool
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TriZz, 29 Aug 2006 @ 3:48pm

Who creates the standards...
...on creating a standard?
...on creating a standard body?

Obviously there's ways around this. Push/Pull. We just need to pull.
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Sohrab, 29 Aug 2006 @ 5:53pm

So are we looking at hitting a hitch in the system where my Vaio might not work with a Netgear but my HP might work with the Netgear while my Vaio will only with with Linksys?

I hope to god not. We need a freakin standard.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Aug 2006 @ 6:12pm

Re:
Its nice to know their are people that know how to count
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Nic Stevens, 29 Aug 2006 @ 9:12pm

We need a standard
We don't necessarily need the IEEE, esp. if they are being influenced by the wireless telcos.

Why can't HP, Dell, Broadcom, Cisco, etc. form their own consortium for an 802.11n standard? They probably cannot call it 802.11n since 802.11 is an IEEE standard but why not have a WiMAX consortium?

It's to every company's benefit that there is *A* standard.
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Louis, 29 Aug 2006 @ 9:25pm

Get the standard fast
All you have to do is to lock those standard approver people in a building with no option of getting out until a standard is approved. After two weeks or so, cut the food supply in half. After another two weeks, do the same again. I'm sure that the new standard will be created in less than 2 months.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2006 @ 5:45am

Re: Get the standard fast
Either that, or you'll have only two fat guys left on your team, and they'll be too busy watching each other to get any work done.

It is VERY hard to work on a standard when you're afraid your coworker is going to eat you.
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DoxAvg, 30 Aug 2006 @ 6:35am

Re: We need a standard
That would be an interesting fight to see; in Ye Olde '486 days, the courts ruled that you couldn't trademark a number. Of course, 802.11n is not _only_ a number, but is _mostly_ a number. I'm curious how that would play out...
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Swordfishbob, 30 Aug 2006 @ 3:08pm

We need the threat of a standards body
There have been consortia (?) over the years for many things, and they seem to fare worse as far as I can remember. You end up with multiple standards that try NOT to interoperate, leaving consumers with gear guaranteed NOT compatible until the market has spent a few years deciding which they prefer. HD-DVDs anyone?
That said, IEEE should be moving quicker to achieve a standard. If a party has it working, and working well, then get on with it
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