802.11ac is the future of Wi-Fi, D-Link says

D-Link announces at CES 2012 that it plans to fully support the new 802.11ac standard of wireless networking with products being available by the end of 2012.

Dong Ngo SF Labs Manager, Editor / Reviews

CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.

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Dong Ngo

Jan. 10, 2012 3:00 a.m. PT

LAS VEGAS -- D-Link said today at CES 2012 that it fully supports and is ready for the new era of Wi-Fi that's based on the new 802.11ac standard.

This resonates with the announcements of TrendNet, Cisco, Broadcom and other networking vendors. D-Link doesn't have any 802.11ac products to demo or showcase at the show, however.

The 802.11ac standard the upgrade to the existing 802.11n specification (known as wireless N) and is considered to be the wireless standard for the "post-PC era" of data connectivity. This is because over time, the number of home appliances and mobile device equipped with Wi-Fi is now more than computers. Depends on the amount of spatial stream, varying from one to three, 802.11ac promises to offer the data rate between 450Mbps to 1.3Gbps, much faster than wireless N.

D-Link says that its 802.11ac, when available, will offer easier set up, faster speeds and greater coverage. D-Link products supporting 802.11ac will also be backwards compatible with 802.11n, ensuring that current products and networks won't become obsolete.

The company says that consumers can expect its 802.11ac products in the later part of 2012.