p2pnet - rss feed: IEEE WLAN fears:
The existence of two different standards for WLANs - one for China and one for the rest of the world - could split the market for wireless networking equipment, says Paul Nikolich, chairman of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802 Local and Metropolitan Area Network Standards Committee.
His view follows China’s May announcement that it’s adopting its own WLAN standard, called GB15629.11-2003.
"The Chinese WLAN standard is similar in many ways to IEEE’s 802.11 wireless networking standard - commonly known as Wireless Fidelity or Wi-Fi - but it has one crucial difference: it uses a different security protocol, called WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI)," says an IDG News Service report here. "WAPI is not part of the 802.11 standard, which relies instead on Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).
"We believe that mandatory implementation of the WAPI protocols would unnecessarily fracture the world market for WLAN products," Nikolich wrote in a letter dated Nov. 23 to SAC Chairman Li Zhonghai and Wang Xudong, China’s minister of information industry, says the IDG report.
"We are concerned that mandatory use of the standard would prohibit the use of 802.11 standard products and thereby limit choice and increase costs to users," Nikolich wrote, although acknowledging that 802.11 security needs to be improved.
"We recognize that 802.11 security is not optimal and have been working to improve it through the 802.11i project," he wrote. "We would like to better understand your concerns and see if they can be met through the current 802.11i draft standard.
Stuart Kerry, chairman of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Working Group, is quoted as saying, "We’re trying to work closely with the Chinese," adding that IEEE is committed to 802.11i.
"We believe that 802.11 is an international standard and that 802.11i is what the world wants."
However, IEEE is open to the possibility of incorporating WAPI into 802.11 to avoid splitting the market for WLAN products in two, according to Kerry. "It is complementary and we are investigating if we can encompass it as an amendment to 802.11," he said.
