WiFi Alliance Specs QOSWiFi Alliance Specs QOS

AUSTIN, Texas -- Wi-Fi isn't just for PCs anymore. Now more than ever, Wi-Fi is an integral feature in new applications, from cellular phones to cameras, from digital entertainment systems to interactive video games.

Whether a finance manager in a large enterprise wants to hold a high-quality VoIP conference call over his corporate WLAN, a teenager wants to compete against his friends on his gaming console, or a family wants to download high-definition video content via a digital media server, Wi-Fi technology is there --- providing the throughput and reliability these applications demand.

The Quality of Service (QoS) standard, IEEE 802.11e, outlines how Wi-Fi access points prioritize traffic in order to optimize the way shared network resources are allocated among different applications. Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM(tm)) QoS is a key enabler of the transition from data-only use of Wi-Fi into voice, audio, and video applications. With an ample throughput rate and data prioritization provided by WMM, Wi-Fi is an excellent technology to handle voice calls, streaming high-definition video and interactive gaming applications under a wide variety of traffic and environmental conditions.

>These important capabilities are enabling widespread adoption of Wi-Fi >in non-PC devices. Analyst firm In-Stat predicts that consumer >electronics and phones, now about 22 percent of the total market for >Wi-Fi chipsets, will grow to comprise more than 60 percent of the >market by 2009. Moreover, the overall Wi Fi market is expected to grow >to nearly four times its current size during the same time frame >(In-Stat, >2005) with consumer electronics and voice handsets the key drivers.

Wi-Fi Alliance