I remember a WiFi event in Boston a couple of years back in which a speaker from Jupiter Research insisted on calling the home network an "über-network"--meaning, I gathered, that it would consist of several technologies (WiFi, Bluetooth, UWB, ZigBee, etc.) all working smoothly and effectively together, each making its own contribution to the wireless home. Whether or not it works like this, the wireless home network, making it possible for HDTV, data, digital voice and music streams to be beamed around the home, will soon be here.
If Fierce 15 winner Ruckus Wireless has a say in the matter, the wireless home will be based on the 802.11n standard--more specifically, on Ruckus's new Smart N technology. The company says that its version of the yet-to-be-ratified standard effectively addresses many of the problems which have hobbled current 802.11n devices. "This is the killer application that consumers and carriers really care about and this is what we're demonstrating to the world," says Selina Lo, Ruckus president and CEO.
The company insists that its Smart-N system boosts performance maximums from about 54 Mbps of current generation WiFi to 600 Mbps (well, this is on paper; Red Herring reports that real-world speed is about 70 Mbps). The company correctly notes that speed alone is not enough, though. To deliver high-quality, consistent transmission, the company says that "an adaptable WiFi system that automatically tunes a myriad of new 802.11n parameters and controls RF signals to ensure predictable performance anywhere in the home has become the new industry benchmark."
Ruckus' system includes the company's BeamFlex-N antenna system and SmartCast, a wireless IPTV-ready QoS technology to improve bandwidth based on each incoming packet, with 3x3 XSPAN 802.11n silicon technology from Atheros. Ruckus plans to begin shipping of Smart WiFi 802.11 in the second half of 2007. The new solution will be demonstrated at the January Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
For more on Ruckus's Smart N:
- see this Red Herring report
- and see company's press release