Most companies will try anything to get the drop on competitors, as the current scramble to get equipment based on the still incomplete 802.11n wireless LAN (WLAN) standard to market amply illustrates. Whether the products being rushed out offer long-term viability or usefulness to customers hardly seems to matter to the manufacturers concerned.

The latest Wi-Fi variant will deliver up to three or four times the bandwidth of existing 802.11g networks. Signal range, as ever, remains something of a mystery, depending on how many walls, ceilings, stationery cupboards and drinks machines are located between the computer and the access point. But they will probably be pretty much the same at up to 50 metres, anyway.

Wi-Fi usage has exploded in recent years, though mass adoption only kicked off when notebook vendors started to integrate 802.11b/g chipsets into portable computers as standard. The same will probably be true of faster 802.11n wireless networks, and with good reason.

Early implementations of the technology launched before the final standard is confirmed are, frankly, best avoided by anybody wanting a reliable wireless infrastructure able to connect any device that comes within its range. That said, and on the proviso that the price is right, those currently swamped by traffic and in desperate need of extra Wi-Fi bandwidth might still be tempted to migrate early. Though at the risk of having to throw all the kit in the bin within the next 18 months.

History also appears to be repeating itself with WiMax. Operators are seemingly intent on providing fixed wireless broadband services not in places where customers are either bereft of or underserved by alternatives, but slap in the middle of large urban centres where DSL, cable and a barrowful of other access technologies already vie for custom.

The argument goes along the lines of it being pointless to offer services in regions where the number of potential customers is insufficient to make provision worthwhile. So, like the early privatisation of UK bus services, rural areas will be ignored while in city centres any number of WiMax services will cut each other up in an attempt to get passengers on board.