U.S. Robotics has boosted the speed of its latest range of wireless LAN products to 22M bit/sec, while retaining compatibility with existing 2.4-GHz systems built to the IEEE 802.11b standard.
Although a faster alternative, the 54M bit/sec IEEE 802.11a, on the market for more than a month, systems based on that standard are not backward-compatible because they operate in a different frequency band - 5GHz, says Juan Lopez, USR's network product line manager.
A full family of products
But USR's 22M bit/sec products - a wireless access point or base station, a PC Card and a PCI adapter - are fully backward-compatible with existing 802.11b wireless LAN systems, Lopez says.That means the new products can communicate with one another at 22M bit/sec and slow down to 11M bit/sec to communicate with older products.
This backward compatibility with other 2.4-GHz equipment is important because many of the service providers offering wireless LAN coverage in public spaces such as airports and hotels already use 802.11b systems.
Older gear still can benefit from some of the other performance improvements that the new range offers. Because of a more powerful radio, the new products offer 30% greater linear range, or around 70% better area coverage, than existing systems, Lopez says.
Although no finished standard exists for the 22M bit/sec wireless LANs, Lopez is confident that USR's systems will interoperate with those of its competitors when they arrive on the market.
USR's 22M bit/sec products will be available in June, the company says.
The 22M bit/sec Wireless Access Point will have a suggested retail price of $200; the 22M bit/sec Wireless Access PC Card, $100; and the 22M bit/sec Wireless Access PCI Adapter Card, $120.
Sayer is a correspondent with IDG News Service's Paris bureau.
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