A group of 27 technology companies said on Monday they would collaborate on a new, faster Wi-Fi wireless Internet connection standard for computers and other portable devices.
The alliance, dubbed Enhanced Wireless Consortium, joins previously separated camps that were heading towards separate standards for wireless networking.
It includes some of the biggest wireless chipmakers such as Broadcom and Intel as well as network equipment maker Cisco and portable computer makers Lenovo, Sony Corp and Toshiba Corp.
The companies want to ratify the standard for improved Wi-Fi networking ahead of schedule, and they will provide first drafts of a specification that allows companies to develop new Wi-Fi chips before the standardisation has been completed, they said.
"It is possible to have the standard ratification done by late 2006, if we can accelerate. It's reasonable to expect products out before then, in the first half of 2006," said Bill Bunch, director of product management at Broadcom.
The original time frame, as part of the normal IEEE standards development process, was for 2007. Broadcom became a leading Wi-Fi chip provider by introducing products ahead of official ratification, and Broadcom and many of its rivals again wish to start building new Wi-Fi products based on first drafts rather than wait for the official seal.
The new Wi-Fi standard is known as 802.11n and follows the 802.11a, b and g standards. The n-version is billed to be two to 10 times faster than current Wi-Fi technologies and will enable high-quality wireless video transmission in office and home networks.
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