"The assumption is that products can be upgraded in a flash, but the truth is few consumers really upgrade products," said Craig Barratt, vice president of technology at Atheros. Barratt added that the most serious issue is that products don't work as well as they should, and although he expects interoperability problems to be resolved, the concern is that the problems may leave a bad impression with customers. Those that might have some insight into the extent of the changes between the latest version of the 802.11g specification and the previous version, such as the chairs of the IEEE 802.11 working group and the Wi-Fi Alliance, are declining to comment.

The University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab isn't making results of its first interoperability trials public, Broadcom executives added that they had found an issue of their own and had brought it to the attention of the IEEE 802.11 working group earlier this month, According to Jeff pixelskin case for apple iphone se, 5s and 5 - blue Abramowitz senior director of wireless LAN marketing at Broadcom, 802.11g networks with chips using an older version of the 802.11g specification do not recognize certain older 802.11b PC Cards, A fix is added to the latest version of the 802.11g spec, according to Abramowitz..

These issues will likely be worked out as the specification is certified and becomes a standard, but in the short term, the concern is that it will leave a black mark on 802.11g that could slow its adoption. "In the long run, I don't think (any interoperability controversy) will have an effect on the market," said Dennis Eaton, chairman of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "Most mainstream consumers will likely wait until the specification is finalized, and early adopters are more likely to put up with problems.".

NPDTechworld analyst Stephen Baker said he expected 802.11g to have a bigger impact in the corporate world than with consumers, "How many consumers really need 54mbps of wireless bandwidth? Someone's broadband connection is more likely to be a bottleneck than their access point," said Baker, noting that few consumer-electronics or computing devices are available in the market that currently connect to Wi-Fi networks, With an OK for the speedy 802.11g wireless spec still months off, pixelskin case for apple iphone se, 5s and 5 - blue the impatience of early adopting gear makers could create interoperability headaches and rile consumers..

When 802.11b first burst on the scene, offering a quick and workable wireless home-networking platform, some manufacturers jumped into the market with components and products long before industry standards groups tested and approved the specification. The result was headaches for some as interoperability issues emerged. Now a repeat of that scenario is shaping up for wireless networking's latest specification, 802.11g. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is finalizing the 802.11g spec and is expected to have a standard set before the middle of the year. Interoperability tests by the Wi-Fi Alliance are expected to conclude several months later.