When Siemens Communications announced in January that it had solved the 802.11n power problem by running a system on normal power over Ethernet, there were plenty of skeptics. So this week, Siemens issued a press release stating that test results from independent analyst firm Farpoint Group verify that the HiPath Wireless Access Points do in fact deliver dual-radio, 3x3 MIMO 802.11n functionality while remaining compliant with the wattage limitations of power-over-Ethernet.
Farpoint Group confirmed this capability recently published results of comprehensive lab testing of the Siemens HiPath Wireless AP3620. The firm performed its own tests aimed to verify if Siemens had met the difficult challenge of addressing both the physical power delivery constraints of the IEEE 802.3af PoE and the needs of power-hungry, dual-radio 802.11n APs.
Other enterprise WiFi vendors have said that two 802.11n radios require 15W, which is a higher power requirement than what can be delivered over powered Ethernet. Others have come up with various solutions to deal with the power problem, including using fewer antennas or proprietary power over Ethernet.
Siemens also announced that its new 802.11n HiPath Wireless AP has received the WiFi certified seal of approval for 802.11n draft 2.0 from the Wi-Fi Alliance.
To read more about the Farpoint Group's findings:
- check out this release