Wireless LAN Interoperability Forum Establishes Industry’s First IEEE 802.11 Standard Interoperability Certification
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — April 12, 1999 — The Wireless LAN Interoperability Forum (WLI Forum) today announced that it has ratified the industry's first IEEE 802.11 interoperability test suites for certification, with assistance from the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL).
Until now, multivendor connectivity testing had been done through UNH-IOL, but independent certification information was not available to end customers.
WLI Forum member companies will now begin submitting frequency hopping and direct sequence spread spectrum radio frequency products to an independent third party interoperability testing facility, XXCAL Testing Laboratories in Los Angeles, for certification. Beginning in the spring, customers will be assured that products certified by XXCAL can interoperate with certified products from other vendors.
Detailed information on the specifics of the interoperability certification will be published by the WLI Forum in the WLI Forum Buyer's Guide this spring.
"There is still a great deal of confusion about the current state of IEEE 802.11 interoperability, and the WLI Forum's test suites, followed by independent certification testing from XXCAL, will provide customers with accurate interoperability information," said Craig J. Mathias, a principal with the analyst firm Farpoint Group in Ashland, Mass.
"Finally being able to certify interoperability of IEEE 802.11, a standard that has been in the works since 1990, will go a long way in furthering the wireless LAN industry and allowing customers to purchase products with no reservations regarding interoperability."
The WLI Forum is the industry's only established organization focused solely on increasing growth of the wireless LAN industry by delivering interoperable solutions. WLI Forum members currently deliver the broadest range of interoperable products via the OpenAir standard, established in 1996.
Currently, WLI Forum member companies have certified more than 40 products, including mobile computers and portable devices, which interoperate under the OpenAir standard.
"We are happy to further the functionality of the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard by heading up the effort toward interoperability certification," said WLI Forum chairman Mike Jones of Intermec Technologies Corporation.
"Wireless LAN interoperability is a key customer need today, and it gives customers the knowledge to confidently mix and match the best products for their remote information needs, regardless of vendor."
About IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 was first conceived in 1990 and ratified as a standard by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1997. IEEE 802.11 defines three physical (PHY) characteristics for wireless LANs — diffused infrared, and direct sequence and frequency hopping spread spectrum, the latter two networks operating at the 2.4 GHz band.
While all of these standards support the same media access control (MAC) protocol, the PHY layers are different and do not offer over-the-air compatibility. The standard supports 1- and 2-Mbps data rates, and work is underway with the IEEE 802.11 Working Group for higher speed standards in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. These new standards are expected to be completed next year.
About The Wireless Lan Interoperability Forum
The WLI Forum is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to promote the growth of the wireless LAN industry by delivering interoperable products and services at all levels of the value chain. The WLI Forum actively supports the development of all standards that foster interoperability and industry growth. Currently, the WLI Forum is providing the OpenAir specification that allows independent parties to develop compatible products.
To ensure interoperability, the WLI Forum has defined a clear method of testing and labeling OpenAir-certified and 802.11-certified products through the national independent test lab XXCAL Testing Laboratories. With technical oversight from the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab, the WLI Forum technical committee has developed and ratified interoperability test suites for both the IEEE 802.11 frequency hopping and direct sequence standards. For more information, see www.wlif.com.
Membership is open to all companies that develop, manufacture or sell open specification-compatible wireless LAN products, or plan to do so. For more information about membership, call Mike Jones, WLI Forum chairman, at 425/348-2681.
WLI Forum members include Citadel, Data General, Fujitsu Personal Systems, Hand Held Products, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, IDWare, Intermec, Kansai, Kinetic Computer, LXE, MaxTech, Mitsubishi Electronics America, Monarch Marketing Systems, Motorola, NEC-CSD, Percon, Proxim, Sharp, Symbionics, Ltd., Telos and TX-COM SA.
Note to Editors: All company and product brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
CONTACT:
Candelori Communications for The WLI Forum
Donna Candelori, 650/917-5610
[email protected]