This year promises to be big for wireless technology. Already present throughout many college and K-12 campuses nationwide, wireless computing is poised to make even greater breakthroughs in 2006.

At the forefront of these developments is the news that a proposed new standard, 802.11n--which is expected to nearly triple the fastest speeds currently available through Wi-Fi--might actually be approved at the next meeting of the standard-setting body, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In addition, developers are working on new technologies that will allow for the convergence and interoperability of various wireless devices that run on different platforms, such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptops.

Add up these developments and you get the potential for extended coverage and increased opportunities for learning to take place wherever students are, using devices they might already own.

Schools and universities are working to expand their wireless coverage campus-wide. Duke University Senior IT Analyst Kevin Miller noted that wireless technology on Duke's campus nearly doubled last year. What's more, student expectations for wireless coverage are high.

"We ran a survey in December after doing a pilot deployment in one residence hall," Miller said. "We found that 100 percent of respondents wanted complete wireless coverage in residence halls and libraries. About 90 percent wanted campus-wide coverage to include academic buildings."

Miller said Duke officials have discussed the topic of wireless deployment with a number of other universities, all of which are planning similar ubiquitous or near-ubiquitous wireless coverage.

"Given everything we're seeing, it's time to move forward," said Miller.

'n' development

Ken Dulaney, vice president of mobile computing for Gartner Consulting, said a wide variety of approaches and technologies will be deployed in schools this year, with an ultimate goal of total wireless coverage and near-total convergence of use for wireless-enabled devices. Though that goal is not expected to be attainable for a few years, steps are being taken along the way to ensure interoperability.

The most widely recognized set of wireless standards is the 802.11 series, the latest of which, 802.11n, reportedly could be made final by the end of the first quarter of 2006.

The term "802.11" refers to a family of specifications developed for wireless local-area network (LAN) technology by the IEEE. It specifies an over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two wireless clients. The 802.11 specifications have made three evolutionary leaps since the original 802.11 standard was established in 1997--b, a, and g. Each revised standard has increased broadcasting capabilities.

The new 802.11n standard will see the broadband capacity of wireless meet or exceed speeds comparable to a wired network, with an estimated top transmission rate of 100 megabits of data per second (Mbps). Though the "a" and "g" standards have a theoretical top speed of 54 Mbps, engineers report that transmission rates around 30 to 35 Mbps are more likely to be seen in the field.