Happy Birthday, Wi-Fi n!

One year ago the Wi-Fi Alliance launched its Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n compliance program, creating a certification process and logo for the IEEE 802.11n standard. Within that time frame, more than 1,100 products – from cellphones to TVs to enterprise-grade infrastructure devices – have been certified, and consumers have drastically changed the way they interact with electronics.

As we celebrate the anniversary of the certification, here are a few of the landmarks Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n has made in the last year:

• 127 phones have passed certification testing, reportedly accounting for 20 percent of handsets certified in the last 12 months.
• 251 consumer electronics products have been certified, including digital audio systems, gaming devices and displays.
• 441 of these certified products are dual-band products – capable of operating in both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands – and 143 products can support 2.4 GHz and 5GHz operation concurrently.157 enterprise-grade infrastructure devices and 115 enterprise-grade access points have been certified as enterprise networking vendors respond to growing demand for networking solutions.

This increase in connectivity has made a huge impact on the indus

try in short period of time. As a recent In-Stat report stated, Wi-Fi has achieved “ubiquity, a term often used but seldom realized in technology market-speak.” At Allion, we’ve seen this growth take place first hand, with our Wi-Fi Logo Testing Program – which includes 802.11n testing –

allowing us to support the Certified Wi-Fi rollout for both consumer and enterprise devices alike.

“It’s clear that Wi-Fi’s integration into virtually all areas of the consumer electronics spectrum continues to expand,” said Phil Solis, research

director, ABI Research in a recent Wi-Fi Alliance release. “At the heart of this growth is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n, which will continue to deliver the

advanced performance these devices require, now and well into the future.”

So happy birthday, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n! We’re excited to see what the next 12 months may bring.