Many Wi-Fi standard iterations over the years have been primarily focused on improving maximum data speeds allowed via the technology. That is starting to change as LTE networks take off and the emphasis shifts to real-world performance and the handoff between LTE and Wi-Fi networks. 802.11HEW--the HEW stands for high-efficiency WLAN--is a major part of that effort. The new standard officially advanced to the study group (SG) stage at IEEE this past July after receiving approval from the IEEE 802 EC in March. The push aims to improve the performance of indoor and outdoor deployments in the presence of interfering sources and dense heterogeneous networks in moderate to heavy user-loaded access points. The mission behind 802.11HEW is to improve the behavior, capabilities and feature set of 802.11 "to make it a friendly option for LTE going forward" and "improve offloading from licensed cellular networks to unlicensed Wi-Fi networks," according to Bruce Kraemer, who is senior manager for strategic marketing at chipmaker Marvell Technology Group and also serves as a member of IEEE's board of governors and chairs IEEE 802.11. For more on the topic, check out this FierceWirelessTech special report.
