MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) announced today that it has opened two new locations for Wi-Fi interoperability testing in Tokyo, Japan and Singapore. Both test facilities are operated by Agilent and are open for operation at the date of this announcement."The worldwide demand for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products continues to grow. Driving the demand is a broad range of people who desire the freedom and mobility that Wi-Fi offers —allowing them to stay connected at work, at home, or in airports and hotels. This increased demand for Wi-Fi certification has required WECA to expand its certification capacity by fourfold since the first round of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products was announced in March of 2000," said Dennis Eaton, WECA's Chairman."We have also seen a tremendous shift in the global composition of the WECA membership. A year ago, less than 30% of the WECA member companies were from Asia. Today, Asia and North America each have an equal part of the WECA membership. At the current growth rate, we anticipate that the number of Asian-based WECA members will exceed the number of North American-based WECA members. The increased demand for Wi-Fi certification and the growing number of WECA member companies in Asia have allowed the organization to begin certifying Wi-Fi products in Singapore and Taiwan," continued Eaton.In a separate release:The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) announced today that Sony Corporation is now a member of the WECA board of directors. Sony was previously part of the general membership. As a WECA board member, Sony will participate in setting the ongoing direction of the organization's global efforts to certify and promote Wi-Fi wireless technology. "Sony's addition to the WECA board of directors is an important step in the further deployment of Wi-Fi technology into the consumer electronics space," said WECA chairman Dennis Eaton. "WECA faces several challenges as the deployment of Wi-Fi is expanded beyond the traditional wireless LAN applications. The WECA board views Sony's track record of leadership in consumer electronics as a valuable resource in helping WECA traverse these challenges and bring this very beneficial technology to an even greater audience," continued Eaton."Sony also represents WECA's first board member that is headquartered in Asia. This is also a very important step for the board as there is explosive growth of Wi-Fi in many areas of this part of the world. This, combined with the fact that 45% of the WECA membership is headquartered in Asia, allows the WECA board to better represent its members' needs throughout the world," added Eaton.In a separate release: The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) announced today that it has begun certification testing for IEEE 802.11a wireless LAN products in its North American certification laboratory based in San Jose, California."People have come to trust Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products because they work with each other, regardless of vendor. This is a standard that we need to maintain and it starts with the foundation of the Wi-Fi interoperability testing procedure," said Dennis Eaton, WECA’s Chairman. "One key testing foundation is WECA’s fundamental belief that several different products need to be available, based on more than one chipset, to begin testing. Although IEEE 802.11a technology-based products have been available for a while, the requirement for multiple chipset providers has only recently been met. The beginning of this testing is also particularly exciting because it moves us closer to dual band interoperability testing of products that support both standards," continued Eaton."There are currently over a dozen products in the first round of testing and they are based on three independent chipsets. As this is the first round of testing, it will take longer to finalize the test bed and refine the testing procedure than for subsequent rounds of testing. We expect the first certified products to be announced in the fourth quarter of this year," Eaton added.In a separate release:The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) announced today that 367 Wi-Fi product certifications have been awarded to 82 WECA member companies' products since March of 2000. Over 50 new Wi-Fi products have received certification and seven additional companies now offer Wi-Fi-certified products."The number of companies that are seeking Wi-Fi certification for their products continues to be very impressive," said WECA chairman Dennis Eaton. "Even more impressive is the fact that the growth in Wi-Fi certifications is coming from both new companies certifying their first product and companies that have been members for years who are certifying their thirty-first product. Both of these points are a clear validation of the Wi-Fi certification's value," continued Eaton."Every time I think that the increase in the number of Wi-Fi certifications is only a growth spurt, the number of certifications seems to be higher than the previous period. Although the number of Wi-Fi product certifications is important, what is really gratifying is how Wi-Fi is being integrated into so many people's lives - in their laptops, their homes, and even influencing their choice of a café based on the availability of Wi-Fi services. It really does seem to be making life better and that is very important," Eaton added.Products awarded the Wi-Fi logo have undergone strict, rigorous, and independent testing at Agilent's Interoperability Certification Labs (ICL). Testing usually takes two to four days per product to complete. ICL has built a reputation for providing objective, high-quality performance, interoperability, and functional testing services.In a separate release:The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) announced today that seven additional companies have joined the organization. These new members have joined the WECA organization from many areas of Asia including Japan, Korea and Taiwan. One of the new companies is located in North America. These companies represent several different areas of the industry including Voice over Wi-Fi, silicon providers, manufacturers and end product suppliers. The total WECA membership is now 154 companies. The seven new members include:ADMtek Incorporated
Corega K.K.
High Tech Computers
IA Link Systems CO., LTD.
RadioFrame Networks, Inc.
SITECSOFT Co., Ltd.
ZIEMAX Technologies "The makeup of the WECA organization has changed significantly over the past twelve months," said WECA chairman Dennis Eaton. "A year ago, the overwhelming majority of the WECA member company headquarters were located in North America. Today, the WECA membership is equally split between North America and Asia, with Taiwan and Japan having the largest Asian company representation. The growth in the Asian membership is a very important point in a developing market. It serves as a validation of the market's potential and, in this case, there is even significant growth in both the sale of Wi-Fi-certified products and its availability in public access areas throughout Asia," continued Eaton.Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA)Sony Corp. of America