Early Wi-Fi gear may prove risky investment

At least for now, the "g" in 802.11g LANs stands for gamble.

In recent months, the first products based on a draft version of the 802.11g wireless LAN specification have emerged, even though the IEEE hasn't approved the standard. Nor has it undergone Wi-Fi Alliance's interoperability testing.

Gartner recently warned clients that interoperability issues could arise not just between 802.11g products but also between 802.11g and the older 802.11b, which both operate at 2.4 GHz.

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At least for now, the "g" in 802.11g LANs stands for gamble.

In recent months, the first products based on a draft version of the 802.11g wireless LAN specification have emerged, even though the IEEE hasn't approved the standard. Nor has it undergone Wi-Fi Alliance's interoperability testing.

Gartner recently warned clients that interoperability issues could arise not just between 802.11g products but also between 802.11g and the older 802.11b, which both operate at 2.4 GHz.

Nonetheless, small office/home office network vendors Buffalo Technology, D-Link, Linksys, Netgear and SMC are shipping products before the final specification, expected this summer.

"The only way to be sure the products will interoperate between different vendors is to make sure they are Wi-Fi certified," says a Wi-Fi Alliance spokesman.

The group warns that several factors can prevent interoperability. Vendor implementations of the same chip might differ, and different chipset vendors might implement various elements of the standard differently.