New system looks to ease Wi-Fi transition

Align eases migration to 802.11n wireless

A new wireless system is aiming to bridge the gap between the 802.11g and 802.11n protocols.

Wi-Fi chip maker Atheros is pushing a new system known as Align, which allows users to achieve the higher speeds in the range of the new 802.11n protocol while still providing connections for legacy 802.11g systems.

Atheros vice president of marketing Todd Antes told vnunet.com that the aim of the system is to bring users over to 802.11n wireless without requiring them to dump all of their older 802.11g hardware.

"We think the ecosystem [for 802.11n] needs to be present and we think that's a year or two away," he explained.

"This is what we'll offer as a solution to move from legacy to 802.11n."

The Align system runs on a single 802.11n wireless stream, allowing for throughput rates roughly half those of the standard dual-band 802.11n draft hardware and up to five times higher than 802.11g.

In exchange, Align is also able to accommodate 802.11g transmissions, allowing a single device to connect with both 802.11n and 802.11g hardware. Devices with 802.11g connections will see the same performance, while those equipped with 802.11n or Align client connections will see the faster performance.

The compromise between the two systems also allows Align to be compatible with 802.11n systems going forward. Because Align can operate on either the 40MHz or 20MHz frequencies, the hardware will not cause nearby 802.11n hardware to limit its transmission speeds the way an 802.11g network will.

Atheros is planning to provide the Align hardware to manufacturers for use in routers, notebooks and a USB system intended mainly for consumer electronics devices.

The company estimates that OEMs will be rolling out the first Align-equipped products by 2009, possibly as early as the CES show in January.