FCC OKs faster wireless HomeRF nets
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission may have created a standards battle by supporting a request by Intel, Motorola, and others to quadruple the allowable speed of HomeRF. HomeRF uses wireless technology to build home computer networks using a single Internet connection and to allow roaming Web-enabled laptops. The regulatory move was opposed by 3Com, Apple, Lucent and others building wireless networking products that use the "Wi-Fi" standard. The ruling has brought the capacity of HomeRF up to relative parity with Wi-Fi, allowing more than five PCs per network, large file transfers, and wireless video and audio transmission within a home. Many believe that, without the ruling, HomeRF would have faded away and left Wi-Fi the clear standard.
