We’re getting close to 802.11n ratification

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty sick and tired of this whole “draft spec” business. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to put up with it until probably October 2008 when it finally receives the rubber stamp of approval. To add insult to injury, the final spec should be ready by January 2008, leaving a full ten months of paperwork and administration until it’s all official and ready to go.

In the meantime, Draft 2.0 has been given a big thumbs up by IEEE’s 802.11n working group. This second draft, once approved by all the members, will give way for Draft 3.0 to get started. If all goes according to plan, this third iteration — on which the final spec will finally be based — will be ready for voting by June.

So, the long and short of it is that you won’t be seeing any sort of official 802.11n (non-draft spec) product until at least the end of next year.