Intel on 802.11 - It's dodgy but we love it

Intel has reaffirmed its commitment to the 802.11 wireless networking standard even though it continues to be dogged by a range of standards problems and faces stiff competition from a Cisco-backed alternative.

The company is committed to deploying a dual-mode solution combining the higher-speed 802.11a technology alongside 802.11b, as reported on silicon.com last November (http://www.silicon.com/a49063 ).

Intel vice president Sean Maloney dismissed an alternative standard for higher-speed wireless networking, the Cisco-backed 802.11g, as "a distraction".

802.11a operates in the 5GHz spectrum, while 802.11b and 802.11g both operate in the 2.4GHz spectrum.

The 5GHz spectrum is generally cleaner, says Maloney, though there are a few significant tenants on this piece of wireless real estate who are making life rather difficult - 802.11a in the EU is currently being delayed by a clash with a rival European standard, HiperLAN II.

There are also certain military users of this chunk of spectrum, and another catchily-monickered standard, 802.11h, is being developed to help accommodate them. It cuts the power of an 802.11a signal when it detects interference from a military user.

Intel will start shipping 802.11a and b-ready products in Europe in the second half of this year, though they won't be able to run 802.11a without a software upgrade - and a rubber stamp from Brussels.

Eventually, 802.11a and b will form part of a seamless networking system built into laptops that roams effortlessly between mobile networks, wireless LANs and Bluetooth.

However, Maloney admits that there is a lot of work to do before this happens.

He said: "Compatibility, roaming, billing, security, interoperability of 802.11a and b. These are all issues that we have to deal with before we go to seamless roaming with GPRS.

"But we're committed to resolving these through open standards. We won't go for a quick fix with a proprietary solution. It's just a case of patiently working through the standards bodies."

Security is a particular issue, as 802.11 networks are famously vulnerable to so called 'drive-by hacking'. Intel is currently looking at a security solution using TKIP and AES, though for the moment, says Maloney, "Intel always recommends using a VPN".

Intel is also addressing the quality of service issue through yet another catchily named initiative, 802.11e.

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