802.11ac Wi-Fi: Time for reality check?

A white paper from Ruckus Wireless asks the question: "Even though 802.11ac is the next-generation [Wi-Fi] technology, does it really deserve all this attention, and is it the next big thing?"

The paper contends that "802.11ac is an optimistic protocol with impressive theoretical gains, but the features that improve capacity and enable such high data rates are difficult to use, both because of engineering limitations and because of client device limitations, radio environments, and business factors."

While "802.11n with MIMO was a massive improvement for Wi-Fi, and 802.11ac will continue to drive wireless adoption," Ruckus advances the proposition that "perhaps the right perspective is to see 802.11ac as a phased continuation of 802.11n -- it sets lofty goals and provides exciting targets to aim for."

"There’s a lot of enthusiasm today about Gigabit wireless, but perhaps it is all a little bit premature," concludes the discussion.

Read the white paper here.