Wireless Comes Home

Coming Soon: HomeRF 2

With dozens of products shipping, you might think that Wi-Fi, or 802.11b, is the clear wireless networking winner. But HomeRF, another wireless standard that transmits over radio frequencies, may reemerge as a contender. The soon-to-be-released HomeRF 2 has heavy backers like Intel and Proxim, and the HomeRF governing body, the HomeRF Working Group, contends that version 2 will offer a number of advantages over 802.11b.

HomeRF 1.x operates at just 1.6 mbps, but version 2 will bump the speed up to 10 mbps--which is only 1 mbps shy of Wi-Fi. And speed isn't the only point of comparison. The HomeRF organization claims that version 2 will support voice, data, video, and multimedia streams, making it more suited to new home telephony and video applications than 802.11b is. Wi-Fi relies on Voice-over IP, a technology that allows voice calls to be made over the Internet, so calls must go through a computer at both ends. But HomeRF 2 should deliver voice conversations directly to a telephone handset, making it convenient when DSL providers start packaging phone service.

The HomeRF Working Group states that you should soon see Internet-connected HomeRF alarm clocks, radios, and other devices from vendors such as Simple Devices and Uniview. Also, HomeRF 1.x gateways and adapters are less expensive than Wi-Fi-based products. Access points are about $100 cheaper, and adapters run $25 to $50 less. HomeRF 2 products reportedly will ship with prices in the same range as the first generation's.

Advances aside, HomeRF has a lot of catching up to do if it hopes to take the lead from 802.11b. Apple, Dell, IBM, and Toshiba are already shipping portables with 802.11b support built in. And with a wide variety of access-point solutions available, 802.11b has proved to be the wireless system of choice in business and education. Some ISPs are even adapting it as a means of delivering broadband Internet services, rather than stringing wires into remote or hard-to-reach areas, such as small outlying communities.

The Wi-Fi camp also promises speed increases, up to 54 mbps. A 22-mbps version, 802.11e, should have products appearing by the end of the year, according to Wi-Fi proponents. While 22 mbps may be technically feasible at the 2.4-GHz band, it still requires FCC approval. (HomeRF is cleared to make the move to 20 mbps in 2002.) But 54 mbps will require a move to 5 GHz, which will prevent backward compatibility with older Wi-Fi products.