New MIMO Wi-Fi to outpace Ethernet

PC World - Airgo Networks Inc., whose multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology pioneered a new generation of Wi-Fi gear with dramatically improved range and throughput, Wednesday announced a new product line it said will match data speeds of standard Ethernet.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Airgo's True MIMO Gen3 with ACE products -- which range from Wi-Fi chip sets to reference designs, firmware and software -- will enable wireless networking equipment with a theoretical maximum speed of 240Mbit/sec., or more than 4.5 times the theoretical 54Mbit/sec. speed of 802.11a and 802.11g Wi-Fi networks, Airgo president and CEO Greg Raleigh said.

That will translate to real-world throughput, at close range, of about 115Mbit/sec., or about three times the speed of today's fastest MIMO-enhanced 802.11g networks and more than five times the speed of non-MIMO 802.11g networks, Raleigh said. (In PC World tests, real-world speeds for today's MIMO networks were considerably slower than the 40Mbit/sec. or so assumed by Airgo, in part because the company's numbers estimate performance on an unsecured network, and we test with security activated.)

Stream that digital content?

At its fastest real-world speed, a network based on Airgo's True MIMO Gen3 with ACE products will be faster than one based on conventional Ethernet, which tops out at 100Mbit/sec., Raleigh said. (Gigabit Ethernet is still uncommon in home networks.)

"Up until now, consumers have always asked the question, 'Why should I go wireless?'" Raleigh said. "The question now is, 'Why should I go wired?'"

Bob Wheeler, an analyst at The Linley Group Inc. in Mountain View, Calif., said he believes Airgo's new line will enable streaming of high-definition video in most homes and small businesses. "That's where the higher data rates come into play," he says.

Death to HomePlug?

The technology could well deal a death blow to the coming HomePlug AV products for powerline networking, Wheeler says. The HomePlug AV standard, which calls for speeds of up to 200Mbit/sec., was only ratified a few weeks ago, and products have yet to appear, but backers of the technology (including Intel Corp.) see it as the best choice for streaming video. Among other things, it doesn't get slower as it has to cover more ground, which is a problem with Wi-Fi. However, Raleigh said a Gen3-based network could still achieve speeds of about 38Mbit/sec. -- more than enough for high-definition video -- when data is transmitted across four large rooms, and Wheeler says very few homes are large enough to require more robust technology.

However, Wheeler doesn't believe Gen3 with ACE will find much acceptance