Sounds like Nortel is trying to stall the market since they don't have a product to offer yet.
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comment by DB
Sounds like a "shoot from the lip" comment. Personal, current experience with an 802.11n DRAFTv2 pilot confirms all the points made by Joanne Lennon.
The sceanario: Staff and existing equipment are being moved into a new office. Senior management "order" all desktops & laptops will connect over a DRAFTv2 network. Existing Call Manager/IP phones/VT Advantage equipment also to be moved. Cisco wireless equipment is sole-sourced.
Problems/experience encountered to date:
> Finding suitable 5 Ghz NIC cards that support Dv2 for desktops - there are some 2.4 cards - but if you can't do 5 Ghz then don't do Dv2; it simply doesn't make sense.
> New site gets new POE switches (for IP phones)plus a mess of power injectors (16) and AC power outlets - yes there are rackmounts - but the point is in the future to "clean things up", the switches and injectors will be ripped out and replaced when the new 802.3at standard is complete - more money.
> Current desktops/laptops connect to Cisco IP Phones and run VT Advantage video (if you don't know, this allows the video of the caller to display on the desktop/laptop and audio is heard through the IP phone). This won't work when the connection is wireless. Will Cisco make this work? - Probably, someday. This point speaks to the need to thoroughly plan and understand the applications.
> As mentioned the equipment is Cisco with Aironet 1250 APs. Marvell Semiconductor (used by Cisco)recently announced new chipsets for Dv2 that will support bandwidth to 450Mbps. One can assume Cisco will begin using these new chips so the recently released 1250 APs are already becoming obsolete - perhaps they will be upgradeable but not easily - and remember these are still Dv2 days. The eventual .11n standard is expected to specify around 600Mbps.
My experience with Nortel is their gear is generally pretty good although at times they are slow to get new products to market and "get into the game". The choice of partnering with Airespace, then Trapeze and soon will be building their own 802.11x equipment is going to cost them some customers. They had better have all the parts of a WiFi system (that does not have to wait for the .11n standard) figured out and built so they can go to market shortly after the standard is ratified or they will be lucky to be a "bit player" at best.