IEEE standardises fast WiFi roaming

The IEEE has completed 802.11r, a standard that lets WiFi devices roam quickly between access points, improving the performance of VoIP on enterprise LANs, according to Techworld.

It explains that IEEE 802.11 standards were originally defined with single access points in mind, but in offices multiple access points are needed. Devices can move from one access point to another, but it takes around 100ms to re-associate, and several seconds to re-establish authenticated connections using 802.1x.

The new standard, 802.11r, known as Fast Basic Service Set Transition, allows the network to establish a security and QoS state for the device at the new access point, before it roams between the two, so the transition can take place in less than 50ms - the standard required for voice roaming.