Draft 802.11n Routers a Headache for EDN Editor

by , 2:05 PM EDT, August 31st, 2007

Some 802.11n, so-called Draft-n, wireless routers were put to the test on a strictly PC network and didn't fare very well, according to the Editorial Director of EDN News.

Maury Wright went through a succession of wireless routers from Linksys and Netgear. "The performance was miserable. With the router in my office, I couldn’t get a reliable signal in my living room on the Wii or my notebook PC. A quick search of reviews on the Internet (yes, I should have done that research first) revealed that all of the Draft-n products perform poorly. So, I returned the Linksys router," Mr. Wright observed.

Faced with all these different systems, an Xbox, a notebook PC, a Nintendo Wii, nothing seemed to work well together.

"I figure I’ll sit out the first round of 802.11n products. A wired-only router may seem like a step backward, but it feels more like a step forward now that it’s up and working," he concluded.

It's not clear whether the troubles were with the Draft-n standard, the implementation, his hardware, or the various devices put into service. However, TMO notes that it would appear that in this stage in the technology of 802.11n, it may be prudent to stay with an integrated system from a single vendor, such as Apple. No Apple equipment was tested in the report by the EDN Editorial Director.