TUVRheinland Prepared for Rush of IEEE 802.11n Certification Requests

PR Log (Press Release) – Sep 30, 2009 – NEWTOWN, CT/—TÜVRheinland® of North America, one of only two Wi-Fi Alliance-authorized testing laboratories in the U.S., has added resources to meet testing demand for the newly amended and ratified IEEE 802.11n standard. The Wi-Fi Alliance plans to announce the standard on Oct. 1 at an organizational meeting in Seoul, Korea.

The Wi-Fi Alliance updated its 802.11n certification program to preserve interoperability with products previously certified under the draft 2.0 program since June 2007.  The Alliance added testing for some new features to the new standard.  Publication of the amendment is scheduled for the first week of October.

“The exponential growth of wireless products is only going to continue,” according to Sarb Shelopal, Telecom Division Manager for TUVRheinland®. “Because we were one of the first labs qualified by the Wi-Fi Alliance to perform this testing and have two strategically located testing facilities right here in the Silicon Valley, we are fully prepared to meet the needs of Wi-FI Alliance members whenthey come to us for debugging, pre-testing and certification.”

ABI Research forecasts that the growth of 802.11n shipments will reach a 45 percent market share this year and grow to nearly 60 percent in 2012. More than 600 products certified for draft 802.11n include computers, consumer electronics such as televisions and media servers, and consumer networking devices as well as more than 100 enterprise-grade access point/switch devices.

Wireless devices—such as laptops, routers, switches, PDAs, VoIP telephones, printers, computers, game stations and computer accessories—that are compliant with the 802.11n standard offer an improved Wi-Fi connection with up to double the range and five times the transmission speed. Such devices deliver more reliable, consistent and predictable Wi-Fi coverage than previous-generation Wi-Fi gear, will prioritize and protect multimedia streams for voice, video and gaming, and enable more devices to connect on a single network without sacrificing speed or coverage.

The final version of IEEE 802.11n defines the parameters for designing wireless networks with improved performance capabilities including:

o   Wireless connectivity in more devices,
o   Transmission of multiple streams (increases data rate),
o   A-MPDU packet aggregations (increases throughput in each packet exchange),
o   Space time block coding (improves coverage and reliability), and
o   Channel co-existence in 2.4GHz.

“TÜVRheinland of North America is a great Authorized Test Lab that has worked diligently with the Wi-Fi Alliance to prepare for 802.11n,” said Edgar Figueroa, executive director of the Wi-Fi Alliance.  

TÜVRheinland® delivers premier independent testing, assessment, and certification services to help companies gain access into global markets. Boasting an international network across six continents, the company’s in-country experts ease the path to compliance with cost-effective pricing and quick turnaround times. The $1.5 billion corporation is comprised of an international network of more than 13,300 employees in 61 countries and serves most industry sectors and markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.us.tuv.com.