Wireless 802.11n standard approved after lengthy wait

It has been a long time coming – nearly seven years in fact – but the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has finally approved the 802.11n standard for wireless networks.

802.11n boasts support for multiple antennae in routers, and is theoretically capable of speeds of up to 300Mbps.

However, as the standard is already widely adopted, the only consequence of this official rubber stamping will be that hardware manufacturers can finally remove the words “pre” or “draft” from their packaging.

The chairman of the IEEE Wireless LAN Working Group, Bruce Kraemer, explained why the ratification process had taken so long: “This was an extraordinarily wide-ranging technical challenge that required the sustained effort and concentration of a terrific variety of participants. When we started in 2002, many of the technologies addressed in 802.11n were university research topics and had not been implemented.”

That and they possibly got distracted playing a lot of Spider Solitaire and watching YouTube clips.