Customers waiting on 802.11n

Communications News, Dec, 2008

Forty percent of respondents participating in a recent poll conducted by Colubris Networks indicated they will wait until the 802.11 'n' standard is ratified for wireless LANs before upgrading their networks. Meanwhile, costs to upgrade to the faster speed of 802.11n were cited by more than one-half of respondents as their most significant concern when considering a move to 802.11n.

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The survey responses indicate there are still some misconceptions regarding the 802.11n standard. IT leaders need to understand that just deploying an 802.11n network does not necessarily mean it will run at 'n' speeds, Colubris Networks cautions, especially when legacy devices (a/b/g) are deployed.

Many companies, according to the survey, are under the impression that 802.11n will not affect the controller or switch, when in reality most controllers today will not be able to handle the accelerated data rates promised with the new standard, resulting in network bottlenecks and the need to eventually upgrade or replace the equipment. The key is to make sure the right WLAN architecture is in place to provide an easy migration to 802.11n.

Originally anticipated in early 2008, the ratification of the 'n' standard is still more than a year away, although 35 percent of respondents said they had plans to implement 802.11n within the next 12 months. The rest, however, indicated they would either wait until the standard was ratified or simply have no plans to implement.

Respondents who indicated they will wait or have no plans to implement 802.11n have a variety of reasons. For some (41 percent) it is a budget issue, but for others (28 percent) there is still concern about interoperability with existing 802.11 gear.