High-Speed Wi-Fi? Not So Fast.
A faster version of Wi-Fi will hit the market this year, giving users the power to download a television show's entire season in less than a minute—although few people can expect to take advantage of such speeds any time soon. Drew FitzGerald reports.
The new wireless standard, called 802.11ac, can triple its predecessor's typical speed, wireless experts say, and handle more than a billion bits of data per second in an ideal environment, fast enough to stream high-definition video with ease.
Yet most Web surfers won't enjoy the benefit of those wireless speeds online until broadband speeds catch up. The average fixed Internet connection peaks around 32 megabits—or about 32 million bits—per second in the U.S., according to network operator Akamai Technologies Inc. AKAM +1.22% —about 1/40 of the throughput offered by the latest 802.11ac devices.
The high cost of investing in new network equipment—which in most cases includes digging new routes for high-capacity fiber-optic cable—forces most Internet service providers to limit data speeds.
"The limit is not the wireless distribution in the home," Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said. "The limit is the cable going back."
Telecom providers are racing to expand the amount of bandwidth they can offer their top customers, but progress has been slow. Verizon Communications Inc. VZ +0.77% offers fiber optic Internet service with download speeds of up to 300 megabits per second, fast enough to transfer a high-definition movie in about two minutes. Google Inc. GOOG +1.39% has piloted an even speedier gigabit-per-second connection the Kansas City area, but so far only wired a few thousand customers, according to analysts' estimates.
Samsung Electronics Co.'s 005930.SE +0.33% Galaxy S4 and HTC Corp.'s 2498.TW +2.13% HTC One are among the new smartphones offering the faster Wi-Fi technology. In February, Asustek released a high-end gaming laptop sporting an 802.11ac-ready Wi-Fi chip from Broadcom Corp. BRCM +1.44% Devices sporting Qualcomm Inc.'s QCOM +0.34% ac-compatible circuitry are also entering the market this quarter.
Businesses like office buildings and convention centers are likely to adopt the technology first, analysts say. Such venues benefit from new equipment because each new Wi-Fi standard develops better ways to manage the interference caused by many devices talking at once.
The Wi-Fi standard is itself technically still a draft, so manufacturers could find their cutting-edge products too ahead of the curve if their hardware doesn't conform to the industry standard. Analysts call scenario that unlikely, however.
"Most of our members do the right thing and come back and certify their products," said Edgar Figueroa, chief executive of the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group made up of hardware makers that sell wireless devices.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which publishes the actual rules that Wi-Fi devices reference, said its standards-writing process is running ahead of schedule and should publish the new standard before year's end.
"By the end of 2014, pretty much every tablet you can buy will have ac built into them," Mr. Golvin said.
He expects Apple Inc. AAPL +0.87% to add ac-capable chips when it launches the next versions of its iPhone, iPad and MacBook devices. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment on any of the company's future devices.
Those who use the new Wi-Fi standard will notice the biggest benefit in crowded spaces, where a clean radio signal cuts through interference from other devices, even if their connection to their service provider falls short of 802.11ac's lofty speed limit.
The advantage will become even more apparent when more televisions, home appliances and other electronics come to market with the ability to match Ethernet cables with Wi-Fi that is equally reliable.
Wi-Fi's ability to move bits through the air has soared since the alliance formed in 1999. The newest standard at that time could move 11 megabits per second. That is faster than many digital subscriber lines' Internet service today, yet glacial next to the fiber-optic service now available to many consumers.
Wi-Fi still has more room to climb. The IEEE said the new wireless technology can eventually support close to 7 gigabits per second in ideal settings. But while advertised speeds often grab consumers' attention, wireless engineers note that consumers rarely see the top performance in everyday use. "How often do you drive [a sports car] 175 miles per hour?" asks Bruce Kraemer, chair of the IEEE's wireless local-area networking group. "Once, maybe."
Samsung Electronics Co.'s 005930.SE +0.33% Galaxy S4 and HTC Corp.'s 2498.TW +2.13% HTC One are among the new smartphones offering the faster Wi-Fi technology. In February, Asustek released a high-end gaming laptop sporting an 802.11ac-ready Wi-Fi chip from Broadcom Corp. BRCM +1.44% Devices sporting Qualcomm Inc.'s QCOM +0.34% ac-compatible circuitry are also entering the market this quarter.
Businesses like office buildings and convention centers are likely to adopt the technology first, analysts say. Such venues benefit from new equipment because each new Wi-Fi standard develops better ways to manage the interference caused by many devices talking at once.
The Wi-Fi standard is itself technically still a draft, so manufacturers could find their cutting-edge products too ahead of the curve if their hardware doesn't conform to the industry standard. Analysts call scenario that unlikely, however.
"Most of our members do the right thing and come back and certify their products," said Edgar Figueroa, chief executive of the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group made up of hardware makers that sell wireless devices.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which publishes the actual rules that Wi-Fi devices reference, said its standards-writing process is running ahead of schedule and should publish the new standard before year's end.
"By the end of 2014, pretty much every tablet you can buy will have ac built into them," Mr. Golvin said.
He expects Apple Inc. AAPL +0.87% to add ac-capable chips when it launches the next versions of its iPhone, iPad and MacBook devices. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment on any of the company's future devices.
Those who use the new Wi-Fi standard will notice the biggest benefit in crowded spaces, where a clean radio signal cuts through interference from other devices, even if their connection to their service provider falls short of 802.11ac's lofty speed limit.
The advantage will become even more apparent when more televisions, home appliances and other electronics come to market with the ability to match Ethernet cables with Wi-Fi that is equally reliable.
Wi-Fi's ability to move bits through the air has soared since the alliance formed in 1999. The newest standard at that time could move 11 megabits per second. That is faster than many digital subscriber lines' Internet service today, yet glacial next to the fiber-optic service now available to many consumers.
Wi-Fi still has more room to climb. The IEEE said the new wireless technology can eventually support close to 7 gigabits per second in ideal settings. But while advertised speeds often grab consumers' attention, wireless engineers note that consumers rarely see the top performance in everyday use. "How often do you drive [a sports car] 175 miles per hour?" asks Bruce Kraemer, chair of the IEEE's wireless local-area networking group. "Once, maybe."
Despite the broader Internet bottleneck, consumers will find the next-generation of Wi-Fi useful because it operates on a less-crowded swath of the radio spectrum, dodging interference from baby monitors, microwave ovens and other electronics that share the same airwaves..
