Cisco fortifies 802.11n market

Cisco has announced enterprise solutions based on the 802.11n standard. Cisco's backing of the specification could give firms more confidence about deploying the technology in the interim until the standard on which systems are based – 802.11n – is ratified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Increased speed and performance are two key benefits of the technology Cisco Scotland chief technology officer Richard Moir said, "Organisations deploying 802.11n kit could see a five to ten-fold increase in data transfer speeds and a 2-fold increase in the range at which users could connect to their wireless networks." He added that any changes to the specification would be included in future software updates. "Any changes to the actual 802.11n standard will be addressed", he said.

Butler Group analyst Mark Blowers said that firms could benefit in many ways from the N specification. "Where firms need to have many people wirelessly connected, this technology would be a benefit. There have been reports of 802.11n capabilities eventually leading firms to think about removing wired connectivity at the edge of their networks – 802.11n makes this scenario a lot more feasible" he explained.

The Cisco offering uses its Catalyst 6500-based wireless LAN controller together with the Unified Wireless Network release 4.2 firmware, with 802.11n functions being delivered using new Cisco Aironet 1250 series access points (APs).

The new Aironet 1250 series AP will be available next month priced around £650 + VAT, with Power-over-Ethernet support using Cisco's Catalyst switches scheduled for launch later this year. Cisco's Unified Wireless Network release 4.2 firmware will be available this October.