Communications of the ACM
What's Next for Wi-Fi?
Credit: www.techshout.com
The Wi-Fi experience will undergo a dramatic transformation in the next three to five years, triggered by the recent approval of the IEEE 802.11n wireless standard. The standard facilitates a spectrum of high data rates that can be plugged into various devices and applications, while the resiliency, reliability, and consistency of radio frequency (RF) signals will receive a significant upgrade.
Wi-Fi is on track to be incorporated into all kinds of new devices and even wireless sensors thanks to advancements in power consumption and management. Future Wi-Fi devices also will be able to communicate with non-Wi-Fi networks, while cellular subscriber identities will become portable. Meanwhile, the security of Wi-Fi will be boosted with innovations such as the recently IEEE-approved 802.11w standard and identity-based security measures. RF management will become smarter, and mobility will improve as a consequence.
Another innovation underway is Wi-Fi client self-management through the addition of intelligence to both the client and the access point through new standard Wi-Fi management protocols.
Finally, future Wi-Fi radio embedded in personal devices will be able to establish a direct connection to other client devices, while the 802.11z standard will allow Wi-Fi access points to serve as facilitators of peer-to-peer links.
From Network World
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