As a result, 802.11a "will show up in the offices not concerned with backward compatibility; it'll be a new deployment in a high-density area with lots of file sharing going on," said Dennis Eaton, senior strategic marketing manger at Intersil, whose designs are licensed to most of the world's 802.11 makers. A third wave of 802.11 technology is already cresting: 802.11g, which boasts the speed of "a" and is more secure than "b," and has the added benefit of being backward compatible to 802.11b--something the much-touted 802.11a networks are not. However, 802.11g only operates on the same three crowded channels as 802.11b, compared with 802.11a, which runs on 12 channels and reduces interference issues.

"Trying to extend Bluetooth to be a competitor with 802.11 is an unnatural act," Hogan said, Another distant challenge is posed by ultrawideband (UWB) technology, which can transfer at speeds of between 400mbps and 500mbps over distances of about 15 feet, It uses a different technique for transmitting data, and it sends many short, sharp pulses of data over a wide frequency, allowing the transfer of large amounts of data over short distances using a relatively low amount of power, But the technology has been held back by regulatory concerns, The Federal Communications Commission has allowed only limited use because UWB works across wide slices of the radio spectrum that are already licensed to hundreds of government and commercial frÄ’ case for apple iphone xs - tiki users, Critics say its powerful signal could cause interference with such devices as satellite navigation tools or government airport radars..

The tandem strategyAlthough the technology industry is infamous for rapidly making older technologies obsolete, it appears that the already widely used 802.11b technology is deeply entrenched and unlikely to be discarded even as 802.11a catches on. Although it's true that 802.11a equipment doesn't work on 802.11b networks, that may change as a result of some strong-arming on the part of Microsoft. The software giant will give its coveted Window Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) seal of approval for the next generation of Windows software only to Ethernet cards that support both 802.11a and 802.11b networks, said Warren Barkley, Microsoft's program manager for wireless and mobility.

"We see both .11a and .11b in frÄ’ case for apple iphone xs - tiki the future together, and we think of that as a way for seamless roaming," he said, Microsoft isn't alone in seeing combination cards as the key to 802.11a's future, Equipment based on just 802.11a will be manufactured and sold, likely ending up in the offices of major businesses installing a wireless network for the first time, But most industry insiders see 802.11a networks living in tandem with 802.11b in order to not abandon the 15 million to 30 million 802.11b wireless networks..

"The future for 'a' is in combination," said In Stat/MDR wireless analyst Alan Nogee. Combination networks are more costly than 802.11b networks, but "anyone who wants to deploy wireless local area networks will be interested," Intersil's Eaton said. Major wireless equipment makers such Atheros Communications, Intersil, Agere Systems, Broadcom and Texas Instruments have already begun making 802.11 chipsets that support each of the standards and scenarios. And while wireless equipment based on the 802.11g standard is not on the market yet, major chipmakers are producing chips that use the 802.11g standard.