3Com goes three ways on Wi-Fi

Networking gear maker 3Com announced on Monday that it plans to begin using a combination of all three Wi-Fi standards in future products.

The company introduced access points and client cards that support a combination of all three Wi-Fi standards - 802.11a, b and g - which will be available this month and will target all sizes of business as well as consumers. The company is using chips from Atheros Communications.

While 3Com is not the only manufacturer to support a combination of three standards in its products it is a part of what many expect to be a growing trend, as companies look to ensure that all wireless products are compatible with one another. Products using the 802.11b and 802.11g standards are compatible, but the 802.11a standard uses a different radio band. By using all three standards, manufacturers will be able to ensure that all Wi-Fi products will work together.

Chipmakers are just starting to manufacture chips for all three Wi-Fi technologies, suggesting that a migration by device makers will eventually happen, but that it will take time.

Sarah Kim, an analyst with The Yankee Group, said: "People will have to figure out what applications they will use with these higher-bandwidth products first, then they may start to make the switch. The trend towards a,b,g products will happen to some degree, just to cut back on any hassle of upgrades later. But it will depend on how much vendors push on this."

Kim added that the 802.11g standard has been very popular and has built upon the momentum of the 802.11b standard. The 802.11a standard has not been as popular as the others, but uses part of the radio spectrum that does not interfere with cordless phones and microwaves, the way the 802.11b and 802.11g standards do in the 2.4GHz radio spectrum.

Richard Shim writes for News.com