WLAN growth fueled by Draft 802.11n

One of the biggest factors influencing network architecture in recent years has been the rise of wireless network technologies.

Dell'Oro Group recently published a report that found that more than 100 million wireless LAN units for small offices and home offices have shipped over the past three years.

Now, the research firm is saying, nearly half of the broadband subscriber base has wireless capabilities. Lots of those subscribers have wireless routers that they bought in retail stores, but others get the routers from ISPs directly these days.

My question is, why doesn't the other half have wireless yet?

Sales of WLAN equipment continue to rise. Dell'Oro says revenues for SOHO WLAN equipment were up 15% in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same quarter in 2006.

Driving the growth are Draft-802.11n wireless routers. The phenomenon around 11n has been an interesting one - the demand for faster wireless is apparently so strong that many buyers aren't put off by the "Draft" part of "Draft-802.11n" and are willing to give these products a try. Draft 2.0 was approved early this year.

Early results for 11n have been impressive. My colleague John Cox recently wrote about the experiences of Morrisville State College, which dove into 11n with gusto for its organization. The school reported what it called "unbelievable" results.

Maybe I'm old-school; I like my standards fully baked before I go buying equipment based on them. On the other hand, it's interesting to see the progress in this area. The draft standard can provide speeds up to 300Mbps. Will we all be wireless someday?

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World.