It's official! 802.11n standard finalized after a mere seven years
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted September 12th 2009 7:01PM
posted September 12th 2009 7:01PM
Remember when the Wi-Fi Alliance finalized the 802.11 draft-n spec some two and a half years ago? Of course you don't -- as long as your media players, laptops, and the like can connect to each other (and to the cloud) without a hiccup you probably don't care about IEEE's paper trail. The standard, which saw no major changes between then and now (meaning that all your draft-n devices should work fine with the finalized standard) theoretically connects at 300Mbps, or about six times the peak speed of 802.11g. But you already know that, since you've been using it for years now. The final standard is set to be published mid-October.
Finalized but not published?! WTF?!
Well technically I thought G could get about 108MBPS... I mean, G+ MIMO.
What the hell? There is no excuse for this! What difference did that 2 1/2 years make? Almost none. I.E. They could have finalized it then and started on 802.11 P
doesn't the final standard go up to 600 Mbps
Well they got to hold all sorts of meetings in all sorts of wonderful vacation spots while pretended to draft the draft. My guess is they were playing golf in Hawaii, doing belly shots off of strippers in Vegas all under the guise of business. I reckon a lot of those on the board are going to be bored now that the standard is finalized. No more fancy business trips to hold meetings at resort destinations world wide.
Didn't they already start on draft 802.11p? I thought it was supposed to start being commercially produced in 2010 (next year).
Wikipedia on p:
"IEEE 802.11p is a draft amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard to add wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE). It defines enhancements to 802.11 required to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications."
Of course there's no need to rush that until cars become popular...
I'm sorry but I got to say something here. As an network engineer I know its not trivial to make something from Draft to standard. Theres a lot of thought and qualitiy checks that needs to go into a standard.
Think about it, they have to make sure it works for upwards of a couple hundred million possibly billions of devices. I think they want to make sure its correctly done.
So what's up next after N?
Just be patient; we'll find out in seven years or so.
O
O DUHHHHHHHHHHH
P
Q
DRAFT
R
finally!! I can sleep well tonight.
(After using N to connect to a porn site and wacking off.)
I've been doing that for 2 1/2 years (actually longer, just on 802.11g before). This Finalization means nothing.
HOOORAY Now we can use the Placebo that is Wireless N!!!
I don't really care because my g wireless still doesnt get anywhere close to the maximum 54mb /sec speeds, and from what i read, while N is theoretically better, it doesnt perform nearly that well in real life, worse than G in many cases.
exactly why I call it the placebo effect, you really arn't gaining much except some improved coverage from the stronger signal
I've tested at over 10mbytes/sec using WiFi-N. Even @ the theoretical 54mbit/sec, G can't do that.
I don't get the speed with my N gear but i get a far better range with my wireless N over my old G stuff.
N is okay speed wise, but it's more signal strength.
Though in saying that, once you have 5 or more competing networks all in the place, all that speed goes out the window, let alone stability of connection.
Just pay for a quality router/card (based on testing not just name) and you get a lot from n, but there are indeed plenty of reports of shoddy n that does even worse than g on some devices.
Only geeks rejoice on news like this ... this is not as exciting as the dialup to dsl transition
Who says it is?
(rejoicing)
You're still on DSL?
Well no shit Sherlock, this is a site for geeks. Where the hell do you think your at ESPN?
what does this mean for us owners of n routers already??
Firmware updates.
Depending on how long ago you bought your Draft-N device, it likely means nothing. The finalized spec is almost identical to the one being produced as Draft-N for over 2 years now - as stated in the article.
I hear they're relaying a fresh, out-of-the-box sent into all current Wireless-N devices, actually.
Mmmmmm. Such a great smell.
I had to re-read 3 times to realize that you meant "scent."
Eck.
So what's next now n is a standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11p
My apologies on the new thread, was meant to be a reply to the post above me asking about "What's next?"
Uh ohz...i think that it may be used to tell the popo's when im speeding and not wearing my seat belt...
I think i might as well stop driving now before it puts me into debt..
Actually, next is 802.11ac (in the 6GHz spectrum) and later, the 802.11ad (in the 60GHz spectrum)
Don't you just love their naming scheme? It makes just about as much sense as Asus when naming the 575th generation of Eee PCs
You couldve fooled me with that comment
my professors told me that they set deadlines in order prepare me for the professional world.
bull.
My professor told me that Wheetos are made with 100% wholegrain!
And yet it's still a lot slower than wired connections! Gigabit FTW.
and wired connections are still less portable then wireless.
Did you two just get slapped my Mr. Obvious?
*Mr* Obvious? Has there been a mutiny on board HMS/USS Obvious?
Mr. Obvious? Did Captain Obvious lose his powers?
Who cares about wireless N - when is USB 3.0 going to be available?!