In the past, the Alliance has generally only done interoperability testing on fully-ratified 802.11 standards. One major exception was on the subset of the 802.11i security standard under the moniker of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Once 802.11i was finished, it revised it to WPA2. Hanzlik says the Alliance's 11n plans will follow that pattern.
Just as earlier this year when it started shipping chipsets days after the draft standard was approved, Broadcom was quick off the mark responding to the move.
"Broadcom is pleased that the Wi-Fi Alliance has revised its certification plans to meet the needs of consumers adopting draft-N products. The move reflects the significance of draft-N products in today's Wi-Fi marketplace and validates the maturity of the draft specification on which these products are built," the chip maker said in a statement.
"By certifying the interoperability between draft-N products and those based on the final standard, the WFA is providing consumers with confidence to purchase next-generation Wi-Fi devices today. While fully supporting the development of the Wi-Fi Alliance's draft-N testing program, Broadcom will continue working with other Wi-Fi vendors to ensure interoperability in the interim," the statement added.
Airgo Networks, the company that pioneered the MIMO technology that is the basis of the merging 802.11n standard, also welcomed the decision to certify pre-standard products.
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