STMicroelectronics has joined the Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC), a coalition of WiFi industry leaders formed in October 2005 to accelerate and promote development of the IEEE 802.11n high-speed wireless standard, which promises to more than quadruple the performance of today’s wireless local-area networks (WLANs). ST believes it is important to ensure that features specifically designed to enhance battery life and to improve communication range are incorporated into the new standard to provide proper support for handheld devices. The EWC consortium now includes 49 companies, representing all segments of the WiFi industry including the PC OEM, networking equipment, emerging handheld and consumer electronics markets.

The new specification is being developed by the IEEE 802.11 Task Group N (TGn), which is charged with developing a next-generation WiFi standard capable of sustaining higher data throughput over an extended range and with improved power management for handheld devices. It will be a particularly important standard in the WLAN market as it will build on and extend the capabilities for the vast number of users worldwide who currently enjoy the benefits of WiFi connectivity through IEEE 802.11a/g, and will ensure interoperability across the wide range of new products expected to join the market.

The focus of ST’s wireless network activities is on WiFi/cellular phone convergence, whereby a single device such as a handset can operate under a range of protocols. It aims to bring to EWC its expertise in low-power system-on-a-chip (SoC) technologies, to ensure that the new high throughput features are fully compatible with the requirements of handheld devices, improving users’ mobile experiences with longer battery life and whole-building coverage.

By proposing a specification with widespread industry support, EWC hopes to speed ratification of the 802.11n standard, while enabling the early development of high-performance WLAN products built to a common set of guidelines. ST was a partner in an earlier consortium–-WWiSE (Worldwide Spectrum Efficiency)--whose technical submissions to TGn have now largely been absorbed into the EWC draft specification alongside those of other industry groups including TGn Sync.

“Accelerating the delivery of an enhanced 802.11n public standard can only benefit the wireless LAN market, and ST is pleased to join EWC to assist in this aim,” said Edoardo Merli, deputy general manager of ST’s Wireless LAN Business Unit. “Multiple-input, multiple-output, MIMO technology delivers significant improvements in throughput, as well as greater range and more reliable links--all key requirements for the fast growing converged WiFi/cellular device market.”

In January, the joint proposal team will review and vote on the EWC specification. If accepted, the joint proposal will be submitted to the IEEE Task Group N and will undergo the standard confirmation process.

The latest draft of the EWC specification can be found on the EWC website www.enhancedwirelessconsortium.org.

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