Austin, TX, July 19, 2004 - The Wi-Fi Alliance announced a new policy today designed to ensure additional interoperability protection for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products with proprietary extensions (e.g., vendor-specific high speed options).† The goal of the policy, which goes into effect on July 19th, is to allow for product innovation while assuring that all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products consistently meet consumer expectations about quality and performance.
Wi-Fi technology continues to evolve, and some companies have added features or extensions to their products that go beyond the IEEE 802.11 standard and Wi-Fi certification requirements. Typically, these extensions are designed to offer additional speed or security. The extensions policy is designed to address situations where one of these product enhancements adversely affects the performance of another Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ product.†
Products are eligible to become Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ provided they can pass the standard test suite and any extensions do not impair the ability of other CERTIFIED® products to operate as intended, said Wi-Fi Alliance Managing Director, Frank Hanzlik. If a product extension significantly impacts the ability of other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ equipment to operate as intended, the Alliance may withhold or revoke certification. We have taken this important step due to the Wi-Fi Alliances continued commitment to a positive consumer experience, Hanzlik added.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly WECA) is the global Wi-Fi organization that created the Wi-Fi brand. A nonprofit organization, the Alliance was formed in 1999 to certify interoperability of IEEE 802.11 products and to promote them as the global, wireless LAN standard across all market segments.
The Wi-Fi Alliance has instituted a test suite that defines how member products are tested to certify that they are interoperable with other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products. These tests are conducted at independent laboratories.
Membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance is open to all companies that support the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance now comprises over 200 members from the worlds leading companies. These companies offer over 1,250 Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products. For more information, please visit www.wi-fi.org.
Press and analyst contact:
C. Brian Grimm
Wave Communications
for Wi-Fi Alliance
910.686.0870
briang@wavecoms.com
