802.11n High Speed Wi-Fi Good Fit For SMBs802.11n High Speed Wi-Fi Good Fit For SMBs

Faster speeds in an ongoing network mantra. Recently, that need has been intersecting with an increasing use of mobile devices. As a result, one market research firm views more than one million small and medium businesses as candidates to double the speed of their wireless LANs and drive adoption of nascent 802.11n technology, which supports 100M bps transmissions.The road from interesting idea to fully developed standard has been long and windy for the 802.11n standard. Begun in 2004, the specification hit a few bumps along the path to ratification, something that may not be fully completed until the summer of 2009. Yet in the summer of 2007, the Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying devices as 802.11n compliant and vendors starting to ship them in bulk.

ABI Research expects the high speed devices to find a home in small and medium businesses for a few reasons. These companies buy in smaller quantities and trade products in more frequently than large companies. Since they may soon be trading in some old PCs, they may decide to upgrade to 802.11n since the new products come with integrated wireless network adapters. Also, small and medium businesses are less concerned with items, such as the end of formal ratification processes and more willing to install systems that large enterprises may view as risky.

Small and medium companies also are a good fit for high speed wireless connections. Retail, real estate, warehousing and transportation are among the vertical industries where a need for higher speeds is clear. Warehouses, in particular, have had issues with lower speed Wi-Fi networks and have been at the forefront of the 802.11n movement. With mobility becoming more common in all corporations, it seems likely that migration to the higher speed network is inevitable. Now, it also appears evident that small and medium companies will lead this charge.