Wi-Fi Alliance WMM Power Save Certification Brings Robust Power Management to Handheld Wi-Fi Devices

Austin, TX, December 6 The Wi-Fi Alliance now certifies features for Wi-Fi networks that will extend battery life for mobile devices. This extension of the Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) program, called WMM Power Save, helps pave the way for rapid proliferation of Wi-Fi technology into phone handsets and other devices for which battery life is critical.

 

WMM Power Save gives device manufacturers and developers a robust framework to improve Wi-Fi power efficiency, via improved signaling capabilities and the opportunity to fine-tune power consumption. The certification for both access points and client devices uses mechanisms from the recently ratified IEEE 802.11e standard, and is an enhancement of legacy 802.11 power save.

WMM Power Save has the potential to provide significant improvement in battery life for devices such as mobile handsets, said Wi-Fi Alliance Managing Director Frank Hanzlik. This new program builds on our successful WMM Quality of Service program, which has certified more than 230 devices since its launch in September 2004, and is an important milestone in our efforts to support Wi-Fi in exciting new markets.

As many as 55 million subscribers for Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones are expected in the consumer market alone by 2010, and this, combined with enterprise adoption, presents a tremendous market opportunity. Deploying devices with advanced power saving mechanisms like WMM Power Save offers manufacturers and carriers a critical advantage in a highly competitive consumer market, said Monica Paolini of Senza Fili Consulting.

A whitepaper entitled WMM Power Save for Mobile and Portable Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Devices is available for free download at www.wi-fi.org. The whitepaper explores the market significance of WMM Power Save and presents guidance for proper implementation.

The following devices are the first to be Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ for WMM Power Save, and currently populate the program test bed:

Atheros AR5002AP-2X Access Point

Broadcom AirForce BCM94704AGR Dual-Band 802.11a/g Access Point

Broadcom AirForce BCM94309CB Dual-Band 802.11a/g PC Card

Cisco AIR-AP1231G-A-K9 with AIR-RM21A-A-K9

Conexant 802.11a/g PRISM WorldRadio

Marvell Semiconductor 802.11a/b/g WLAN router

Ralink 802.11a/g Mini PCI

Winbond Mini PCI 802.11a/b/g WLAN Client

About the Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 200 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for mobile wireless devices, the Wi-Fi Alliances testing and certification programs ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliances certification program in March 2000, more than 2,200 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets. For more information, please visit www.wi-fi.org.

For more information, contact:Edelman for Wi-Fi Alliance: Michael Diamond, michael.diamond@edelman.com, 650-429-2772.

 

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