HomeRF Fights Back
By allNetDevices Staff
May 03, 2001
Facing major competition from a competing standard, the HomeRF wireless home networking standard struck back Thursday with an updated specification and greater speed.
The HomeRF Working Group officially released version two of its specification, which provides for 10Mbps speed, which is about ten times faster than previous HomeRF products. The group claims that it is the only wireless standard that supports high-quality voice transmissions and that it doesn't suffer from interference from common household items like microwave ovens and cordless phones.
The competing 802.11b wireless networking standard, which is commonly used in the enterprise and supports speeds as high as 11Mbps, has made significant gains in the home lately. For instance, Intel said it would no longer develop HomeRF products and would focus its efforts on 802.11b products.
The HomeRF working group says that, besides increased speed, the updated specification will result in products that are easier to install. Advocates also claim it has superior quality of service, with built-in prioritization for applications such as streaming.
In addition, the specification uses frequency-hopping technology that is more secure than 802.11b, the group says. The new specification is backward-compatible with older HomeRF products.
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