'We will certify pre-standard IEEE 802.11n products by 2007'

Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit industry association with over 275 members
worldwide has arrived in India with a Wi-Fi pre-certification lab set up at the
Wipro Campus, Bangalore. Frank Hanzlik, managing director, Wi-Fi Alliance talks
about his plans in India, and the roadmap ahead for Wi-Fi products

How significant is the setting up of the pre-certification lab by Wipro
for Wi-Fi Alliance members in India?

We are very excited to partner with Wipro for setting up the
pre-certification Lab in India. This also marks Wi-Fi Alliance's first
presence in India. Many of our members rely on pre-certification testing as an
important step in the quality assurance process. The Wipro lab will replicate
the Wi-Fi Alliance test beds and test plans to allow for engineering feedback
and more customized analysis than is permitted during formal Wi-Fi certification
testing. This lab will go a long way to benefit a large number of multinational
companies that are Wi-Fi Alliance members, who are based in India, especially in
Bangalore.

How does this lab differ from other labs?

Besides Wipro Lab in India we have two pre-certification labs: in the US and
in Taiwan. Although size-wise and function-wise the labs are similar, the three
labs are distinct in nature of their affiliation.
For instance, the US-based pre-certification lab is at the University of
Hampshire, where it carries out interoperability testing and has a more academic
angle. The Taiwan-based one is part of the Taiwanese Government's initiative
to promote technology development within that region, especially Taipei. It thus
has a more government related purpose to support the ecosystem of wireless
services.

The Wipro Lab in India, on the other hand, is more commercially rated than
the other two as it leverages Wipro's current portfolio of testing services.
Wipro's expertise and facility will be an excellent addition to our worldwide
lab presence, serving global members and not just from the APAC region.

With cities like Bangalore and Pune planning to go wireless, what advice
do you have for the authorities?

It is exciting to see that a lot has been happening with city wireless
initiatives across the world. I would suggest that the first consideration must
be to leverage benchmarking, see what others are doing. Try to understand how
that may create a set of options related to the value you are trying to offer.
One must identify the purpose of unwiring cities and what you are trying to
accomplish. Whether it is to provide more cost effective wireless data for
industry workers or services or to serve as an economic development project for
certain parts of the city. It could also be to expand wireless internet
broadband service. Then it is easier to leverage some of the world benchmarks.
One of the key things that makes it a successful project is having a good
partnership with technology companies or organizations. We have seen good
examples of how cities are growing by choosing the right partners that have core
competencies in wireless technologies, infrastructure planning etc.

A significant step taken by the Wi-Fi Alliance is the decision to certify
pre-standard IEEE 802.11n products by next year. Can you tell us more about it?

We are extremely excited to announce our plans to certify interoperability
of Wi-Fi products that include baseline features from the developing IEEE
802.11n standard in the first half of 2007. Although the standard is not
expected to be ratified till 2008, we felt that pre-standard products are
reaching a level of maturity and there is enough market uptake, and so, a
certification program makes sense for the industry. This is the first phase in
the certification program of the next generation of Wi-Fi products. A second
phase brings full alignment with the ratified standard. This two-phase approach
balances our longstanding commitment to standards-based technology with the
current market need for product interoperability certification.

What are the next generation Wi-Fi products on the anvil?

One exciting development is the appearance of phones with Wi-Fi. All major
handset manufacturers have demonstrated their commitment and are ready to ship
phones with Wi-Fi. Fortunately this feature is not restricted to only smart
phones, it is also extended to mainstream phones, both on high-end and mid
categories. We reckon that consumer electronics development will revolve around
Wi-Fi, which enhances power saving capabilities, and ensures fast connectivity
and security. We are seeing Wi-Fi combined with quite a few gaming devices,
cameras and video streaming devices. All gaming companies: Sony, Nintendo,
Microsoft have packaged Wi-Fi as an integral part of their gaming platforms to
enable networking and multiplayer gaming-getting rid of the cord. Looking at
the roadmap, we are certain that data transfer at 150-600 Mbps is quite possible
with Wi-Fi in the near future.

When can we expect certified Wi-Fi convergence phones?

We have certified 15 mobile phones so far, of which half are Wi-Fi phones
and about half are Wi-Fi convergence phones. Top handset manufacturers like
Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Philips, etc are ready with certified Wi-Fi
convergence phones. So before the end of this year, we may see some of the first
commercial launches of some FMC phones, perhaps by the likes of British Telecom.
However, it still has a long way to go. In few cases, these phones are being
offered by carriers, so they are part of a bundled solution. While in many
places they are not yet an integrated package and are optional for the
consumers, considered a low-key offering.

What is the Alliance working on to enhance security features for Wi-Fi
enabled devices?

One of the key projects Wi-Fi Alliance is working on is a one-touch Wi-Fi
security feature called Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS). This feature is designed to
ease installation and activation of security features on a network to improve
the home Wi-Fi user's experience. We hope this feature will change the Wi-Fi
world, in a similar way as Apple has transformed MP3 players with the iPod. WPS
is a common framework that will allow Wi-Fi home user to set up network security
with great ease, irrespective of devices or manufacturers. We have enabled a
common framework that will allow security to set up at the touch of a button for
any of the Wi-Fi devices and the user doesn't have to worry about the
compatibility issue. WPS automatically configures and senses the companion
devices, or what kind of security level is required. We will rollout the first
stage of WPS hopefully in Q4 this year.

Malovika Rao

malovikar@cybermedia.co.in