With the recent launch of Intel's Centrino mobile product, it seems that wireless networking is getting another big push towards the mainstream, but it may leave longtime wireless networking fans scratching their heads about something: whatever happened to 802.11g?

While Centrino has firmly integrated the 802.11b standard into its new spec, a few pointed questions were thrown Intel's way about the decision, especially since 802.11a and 802.11g networking offer 54 Mbps wireless transmission, five times 802.11b's 11 Mbps.

The decision to bypass 802.11a was not all that mysterious; since the protocol uses the 5 GHz radio spectrum, it has less interference from other wireless devices, but the range of the product drops as the shorter wavelength can't get through concrete, metal, or even wood as easily as 802.11b's 2.4 GHz signal. Further, it's become mostly a corporate standard, and it's not compatible with the much more popular 802.11b without additional hardware installation.

The newer 802.11g has fewer such problems: it uses the same 2.4 GHz spectrum as 802.11b, which means that it can be used over the same distance as 802.11b--even through walls. Even better, 802.11g is backwards compatible with 802.11b--802.11g access points are compatible with 802.11b wireless cards, and vice versa--which means a less costly and less stressful upgrade path for companies that already have 802.11b wireless networks installed. Best of all, products with 802.11g are expected to only be marginally more expensive than 802.11b products. So where's all the "g"?

The biggest problem with the 802.11g standard is that, well, it's not quite a standard yet, at least not officially. The numbers 802.11 actually refer to a technology standard set by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, http://www.ieee.org/), and at the time of writing, it had not yet ratified the 802.11g as an official standard. Because of that, manufacturers and retailers that have been pushing hard in the 802.11b and 802.11a field have been more reticent to commit to 802.11g products.

That doesn't mean the products aren't already out there, though: Apple (www.apple.com/ca) has integrated 802.11g wireless into its updated version of the AirPort, known as AirPort Extreme, and is starting to integrate the faster technology into its new notebooks.

The new 802.11g line from Linksys (http://www.linksys.com/), Wireless-G, has already made its way into major retail chains across Canada. And though they weren't popping up in retail listings at the time of writing, other wireless networking companies have products in the pipeline: keep your eyes out for products from D-Link, Netgear, Belkin, SMC, and more.

Of course, the danger of buying a product that is based on a standard that isn't ratified yet is that the standard could officially change. One of the companies that hasn't officially announced 802.11g products yet is 3Com.

"We're worried the standard isn't quite... baked yet, and that there may be more changes," says David Morelli, 3Com Canada's communications manager, claiming that 3Com will announce products once the standard is ratified and ready to go. "We want the customers to be confident that the product they're getting works with the ratified standard. We would rather be safe than sorry."

That doesn't mean that currently available 802.11g products won't work at all: we've actually tried out a Linksys 802.11g product, and it seemed to work perfectly well, even with our 802.11b network. The big problem will be compatibility with 802.11g products that might be released after any changes to the 802.11g standard (if any).

Unfortunately, if there are any hardware changes required for the final 802.11g spec, you'll have to buy the hardware again to be fully compliant. Still, Linksys feels fairly comfortable that the IEEE will ratify a version of 802.11g that's fairly similar to the draft version found in currently shipping Linksys products, around June. "If there are any changes to the spec, Linksys will provide a firmware upgrade on the Web site," emphasizes Karen Sohl, manager of corporate communications.

As for Centrino, Intel hasn't ruled out 802.11g for a future version of the product, according to company officials at the launch of the product. While there are definite plans to release a version with dual a/b capability, Intel is watching the 802.11g standard carefully.

By Sean Carruthers

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