There is much hope invested in the forthcoming 802.11n standard and the potential improvements it will offer to WiFi communication. In a nice turn of phrase, market research firm Research and Markets goes so far as to say that "802.11n will be to 802.11b what a Maserati is to a Pinto." Many are eager for the kind of raw speed the technology is promising--up to 600 Mbps, which is unheard of for a wireless technology of any kind. Research and Markets expects the break-out year for 802.11n to be 2008. By mid-2008, the standard should be formally ratified and the first stage of WiFi-certified products should be rolling out, with, R&M says, many of the early product bugs worked out of chipsets and end-products, and vendors working on cost and power-efficiency. "During 2008, we expect that the majority of chipsets shipped out, a little over 50%, will be based on 802.11n, representing 195 million 802.11n chipsets shipments for 2008." Report
