Dennis Eaton

Although 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless networks have been a hot technology, a faster draft standard is upon us—802.11g. 802.11b has a maximum data-transfer rate of only 11 Mbps, while 802.11g aims for 54 Mbps speeds and backward compatibility with 802.11b. Dennis Eaton, chairman of the Wi-Fi Alliance, is involved in certifying 802.11g for interoperability. In our conversation with Eaton, he predicts what lies ahead.

When should we expect a standard?
We expect the ratification of the 802.11g standard will come in June. By fall, many enterprises will start upgrading. Enterprises are just more conservative and shun what is prestandard. Many consumers are jumping before standard ratification, though.

What kinds of 802.11g products are on the way?
There are already access points from companies such as Buffalo Technologies and Linksys Group, as well as PC Cards. Soon you'll see mini PCI Cards, as 802.11g becomes embedded in laptops. Then you'll see USB adapters. USB is a very popular category today with the 802.11b technology, but the adapters are all USB 1.1 adapters. To get the speed that 802.11g promises, you'll see people developing USB 2.0 adapters.

What speeds will we see?
The number everyone throws around—54 Mbps—is the actual data rate, but there's overhead associated with protocols that handle contention on a network and manage reliable communications, because this is an RF network. Such factors bring overall throughput down to about 24 Mbps.