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Wi-Fi Alliance® to Ease Setup of Home Wi-Fi Networks with New Industry-wide Program |
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Saturday, 13 January 2007 |
The Wi-Fi Alliance has certified the first products implementing its new simplified method for configuring security-enabled networks in the digital home. The new optional certification, called Wi-Fi Protected Setup, is based on a specification developed by Wi-Fi Alliance member companies to provide an industry-standard approach to ease setup of Wi-Fi networks and encourage consumers to always enable security features.
Wi-Fi Protected Setup is expected to further enable the proliferation of Wi-Fi technology in PCs and beyond. A wide range of devices are eligible to pursue the certification, including traditional PC equipment, televisions, stereos, and gaming consoles, as well as phones. The first release of the program supports use of a push-button technique or entry of a PIN (personal identification number) to network Wi-Fi devices. Support for methods using Near-Field Communication, in which a user simply touches a token or card to a device, as well as USBA high-speed bidirectional serial connection between a PC used to transfer ...
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Flash drives, is planned for later in the first half of 2007.
“Wi-Fi has quickly become one of the most pervasive wireless technologies, but consumers have told us they want it to be easier to set up and protect,” said Wi-Fi Alliance Managing Director Frank Hanzlik. “Wi-Fi Protected Setup reduces by half the number of user steps required to set up a network, enabling Wi-Fi to be more easily installed across a range of consumer devices.”
“Having an industry-standard approach to simplified network setup will be a big help, as new users adopt Wi-Fi and more experienced users want to connect a wider array of devices,” said Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst with Parks Associates. “We expect 90% of networked homes to include Wi-Fi by 2010, so it’s critical that manufacturers make it as easy as possible to configure.”
The first products to become Wi-Fi CERTIFIED for Wi-Fi Protected Setup are:
• Atheros AR5006X 802.11aAn IEEE standard for a wireless network that operates at 5 GHz with rates u...
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/b/g Wireless Network Adapter
• Atheros AR5002AP-2X Concurrent 802.11a and 802.11bAn IEEE standard for a wireless network that operates at 2.4 GHz with rates...
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/g Dual-bandA device that is capable of operating in two frequencies. On a wireless net...
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WLANWireless Local Area Network. A type of local-area network in which data is ...
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Access PointAccess Point. often a wireless router, a device that connects wireless devi...
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• Broadcom BCM94704AGR 54g Dual-band Access Point Reference Design
• BUFFALO AirStation Wireless-A&G High Power Access Point WHR-HP-AMPGV
• BUFFALO AirStation Wireless-A&G High Power Notebook Adapter STA: WLI-CB-AMG54
• Conexant CX94515 ADSL2+ GatewayIn the wireless world, a gateway is an access point with additional softwar...
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• Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software Version 11.1
• Marvell 802.11a/b/g Wireless USB ClientAny computer connected to a network that requests files and services (files...
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• Marvell TopDog™ Draft 802.11nA taskgroup of the IEEE 802.11 committee whose goal is to define a standard...
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Access Point
• Ralink Technology RT5201U (802.11a/b/g USB) / PacketA unit of information transmitted from one device to another on a network. ...
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Overdrive™
A white paper entitled “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ for Wi-Fi Protected Setup: Easing the User Experience for Home and Small Office Networks” provides a detailed look at how Wi-Fi Protected Setup works and is available for free download at the Wi-Fi Alliance web site, www.wi-fi.org. In addition, application developers will find the full Wi-Fi Simple Config Specification, the foundation for Wi-Fi Protected Setup, available for purchase at the web site.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 300 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for mobile wireless devices, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s testing and certification programs ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11The family of specifications developed by the Institute of Electrical and E...
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specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification program in March 2000, more than 3,000 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets.
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