We’re on the verge of the biggest change in wireless networking since 2007. Fifth-generation Wi-Fi technology promises to deliver faster-than-cable speed–without the cables.

If your business has kept pace with changes in wireless networking, you’ve deployed dual-band routers and client adapters that can stream encrypted data over the airwaves at speeds greater than 100 megabits per second at relatively close range.

But no good deed goes unpunished. New hardware based on the nearly finished 802.11ac standard is about to debut, and it will make your existing wireless infrastructure feel as though it’s mired in molasses.

Though the standards body responsible for defining 802.11ac hasn’t finished dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s yet, semiconductor manufacturers Broadcom and Qualcomm Atheros are already sampling 802.11ac chipsets (Broadcom has labeled its effort “5G Wi-Fi”). Both companies are closely involved in defining the standard, and they promise to deliver firmware updates to correct for any minor changes that may creep into the standard between now and the moment it is ratified (probably later this year or early in 2013).

Wondering how the IEEE moved from 802.11n to 802.11ac? The standards body uses a new letter suffix to identify each new technical paper related to the 802.11 project, so the logical follow-ons to 802.11z were 802.11aa, 802.11ab, and now 802.11ac. The standard is dubbed “fifth-generation Wi-Fi” because it’s the fifth generation of the technology that will be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance marketing consortium. At the risk of muddying the waters, there is an 802.11ad standard in the works, but it’s not the next step in mainstream wireless networking. WiGig, as that standard is known, is a short-range, line-of-site technology that uses the 60GHz frequency band to stream media.

Unlike 802.11n networking hardware, which can use either the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz frequency bands, 802.11ac devices will operate exclusively on the 5GHz band. The 2.4GHz band delivers better range, but Wi-Fi data streams that use it must compete with a multitude of other devices that operate at the same frequency–everything from microwave ovens to Bluetooth headsets). The 5GHz band contains many more available channels; and in the 802.11ac standard, each of those channels is 80MHz wide, versus the 40MHz width specified for channels under the 802.11n standard.

Trendnet’s TEW-811DR router will support 802.11ac.What’s more, 802.11ac will use a modulation scheme that quadruples the amount of data that will fit on an encoded carrier signal. The maximum bandwidth per spatial stream in 802.11n is 150 mbps, which means that an 802.11n router outfitted with three transmit and three receive antennas can deliver maximum theoretical throughput of 450 mbps. In contrast, the maximum bandwidth in 802.11ac jumps to 433 mbps per spatial stream, and the maximum number of spatial streams increases from three to eight. So the theoretical maximum throughput on an 802.11ac network will eventually be several times that of gigabit ethernet. First-generation devices, however, will be limited to using either two or three transmit and receive antennas to deliver a theoretical throughput maximum of 866 mbps or 1.3 gbps).

As we’ve seen with 802.11n networks, real-world throughput will likely be one-third to one-half as fast as the theoretical maximums. Still, even mobile devices outfitted with 802.11ac chipsets and just one transmit and one receive antenna–think smartphones and tablets–should be able to handle more than twice the bandwidth that today’s devices with 802.11n chipsets can manage. With bandwidth-intensive applications such as videoconferencing and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) moving from the desktop to smartphones and tablets, 802.11ac networks will become essential infrastructure elements for businesses large and small.

One means of overcoming the 5GHz band’s shorter range with 802.11ac chipsets will be to utilize transmit and receive beam-forming technology. Beam forming was an optional and non-standardized element of the 802.11n spec. In the 802.11ac standard, beam-forming will remain an optional feature, but its implementation will be standardized. Most of today’s 802.11n devices use omnidirectional signal transmission and reception. Signals propagate in a series of concentric rings, like the ripples you create by dropping a stone in a pond.
With beam forming, the router and its clients develop an awareness of each other’s relative location, so they can coherently focus their transmission streams at each other. Without beam forming, reflected signals may arrive out-of-phase and cancel each other out, reducing total bandwidth. A beam-forming chipset can adjust the signals’ phase to overcome that problem, thereby substantially increasing usable bandwidth.

The first generation of 802.11ac routers, such as the Trendnet TEW-811DR, will be concurrent dual-band models that support 802.11n clients on the 2.4GHz frequency band and 802.11ac clients on the 5GHz band. These devices are likely to reach the market in the third quarter of this year. Laptops with 802.11ac chipsets should arrive in time for the winter holiday season, with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets following in early 2013. The Wi-Fi Alliance, which has assumed responsibility for ensuring that wireless networking products interoperate properly, plans to begin its 802.11ac certification program in early 2013.

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Protecting your identity is important and with Wi-Fi networks popping up nearly everywhere, many consumers don’t realize the dangers that come with using a Wi-Fi connection that is not their own. According to a recent poll conducted by Wakefield Research and Wi-Fi Alliance, 32 percent of respondents said they have tried to get on a Wi-Fi network that was not their own, a startling 18 percent more than a December 2008 poll. The Better Business Bureau, along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), urges consumers to think ahead before surfing the Web on a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Wi-Fi hotpots like coffee shops, libraries, airports, hotels and universities are all breeding grounds for hackers. According to the FTC, new hacking tools—available for free online—make hacking easy, even for users with limited technical know-how.

Consumers should be cautious before using a non-secure wireless network and before sending personal information via unencrypted websites. When surfing on a non-secure Internet connection, an individual’s personal information, private documents, contacts, photos and even login information can be up for grabs as other users on the network have the capability of seeing what is being sent.

Steve Cox, President and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, warns consumers against two popular security scams that can be associated with using an unsecure Internet connection. “Many consumers don’t realize the repercussions that come from using a Wi-Fi hotspot. Phishing, a popular e-mailing scam, and smishing, a SMS texting scam, grow exponentially when hackers obtain access to personal information on the Web via an unsecure Wi-Fi network.” BBB urges consumers to protect themselves from such scams by securing their Internet surfing.

In order to confirm that an Internet connection is secure, BBB advises consumers to follow the FTC’s top Wi-Fi tips:

• Make sure the connection is protected by a unique password. If a Wi-Fi hotspot doesn’t ask for a password, the Internet connection is not secure. If a hotspot asks for a password just to grant access, consumers should proceed as if the connection were unsecured. Only trust home and work internet connections that are protected by a customized user password. Wi-Fi hotspot connections with generic passwords are vulnerable to hackers.

• Transmitted information should be encrypted. When sending personal information like addresses, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers over the Internet, make sure the website is fully encrypted and the network is secure. Look for https (the “s” stands for secure) at the beginning of the URL address to confirm its security.

• Don’t stay permanently logged-in to wireless hotspots. Never leave your Internet connection running while your computer is unattended and make sure to log-off after every use.

• Change your passwords frequently. When creating new accounts, make sure you use different passwords. Do not use the same password for different sites. If one password is hacked, the chances of other accounts being hacked becomes greater with repeated passwords.

For more advice on security scams, visit www.bbb.org or to learn more about protecting your privacy online and what to do if your information is compromised, visit www.OnGuardOnline.gov and http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/02/wireless.shtm

Fifth-Generation Wi-Fi Is Coming

We’re on the verge of the biggest change in wireless networking since 2007. Fifth-generation Wi-Fi technology promises to deliver faster-than-cable speed–without the cables.

BBB Advises Internet Surfers to Use Caution