Wi-Fi Alliance® Introduces Two New Certification Programs for Advanced Enterprise Applications

AUSTIN, Texas, May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wi-Fi Alliance® today announced that it will soon begin to certify products for two new programs that deliver enterprise-grade voice quality, mobility, power savings and security protections.

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Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Voice-Enterprise is designed to support good voice call quality in large enterprise networks that require support for advanced WPA2™-Enterprise security mechanisms.  The program builds on the existing Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Voice-Personal program to support fast transitions between access points APs and provide management for voice applications.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WMM®-Admission Control provides bandwidth management tools to optimize the delivery of voice and video traffic in Wi-Fi® networks. 

Planned for launch late in the second quarter, the new certification programs will provide enterprise IT managers solutions for better voice quality and bandwidth management in their Wi-Fi networks, with the following benefits:

• Priority for voice applications: APs give priority to voice packets over data packets, optimizing performance in mixed traffic environments where heavy data, voice and video traffic co-exist
• Seamless mobility: Voice connectivity is preserved as the user moves within the enterprise network, from one AP to the next
• Power savings: Solutions are optimized for battery-operated devices, implementing mechanisms across the system that maximize power efficiency
• Advanced security protection: Industry-standard WPA2 security ensures only authorized users access the network and protects  the privacy of communications

"These new certification programs reflect Wi-Fi's continued prominence as an enterprise networking technology and bring important new tools to meet the needs of demanding enterprise applications," said Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance.  "As enterprise connectivity continues to evolve, Wi-Fi Alliance will continue to give IT managers confidence that products will meet the needs of ever-more-complex networks."

Voice-Enterprise and WMM-Admission Control-certified devices can connect with older Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices, enabling a vast range of devices already in use to connect with products implementing these new features.  Voice-Enterprise and WMM-Admission Control-certified devices can support Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n technology, as well as other versions of Wi-Fi.

Products selected as the test suite devices for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Voice-Enterprise testing are:

• Aruba 105 Wireless Access Point and Aruba 3200 Controller
• Broadcom® Wireless-N WLAN mini-card adapter reference design
• Cisco® Aironet® 1260 Series Access Point and Cisco Aironet 2100 Series WLAN Controller
• DSP Group® Expeditor TB Wi-Fi Reference Board
• Marvell® Plug Computer with 8787 Dual Band Wi-Fi
• Meru 802.11abgn AP310 Access Point and Meru MC1500 controller
• Qualcomm Atheros™ XSPAN Reference Design Concurrent Dual-Band Access Point
• Research In Motion® BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000

Products selected as test suite devices for the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WMM-Admission Control testing are:

• Aruba 105 Wireless Access Point and Aruba 3200 Controller
• Cisco Aironet 1260 Series Access Point and Cisco Aironet 2100 Series WLAN Controller
• DSP Group Expeditor TB Wi-Fi Reference Board
• Marvell Plug Computer with 8787 Dual Band Wi-Fi
• Meru 802.11abgn AP310 Access Point and Meru MC1500 controller
• Ralink RT3800PDAP3 Wireless Access Point
• Ralink MIMObility 802.11n Reference Design
• Research In Motion BlackBerry Bold 9000

More information on Wi-Fi CERTIFIED programs, a list of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products, technical specifications, white papers, and more are available at www.wi-fi.org  

About the Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit industry association of hundreds of leading companies devoted to seamless connectivity. With technology development, market building, and regulatory programs, the Wi-Fi Alliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi worldwide.

The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program was launched in March 2000. It provides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability and quality and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi-enabled products deliver the best user experience. The Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 13,000 product certifications, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets. 

 Wi-Fi®, Wi-Fi Alliance®, WMM®, Wi-Fi Protected Access® (WPA), the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, the Wi-Fi logo, the Wi-Fi ZONE logo and the Wi-Fi Protected Setup logo are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, Wi-Fi Direct™, Wi-Fi Protected Setup™, Wi-Fi Multimedia™, WPA2™, Passpoint™, and the Wi-Fi Alliance logo are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

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SOURCE Wi-Fi Alliance