Intel, Cisco team to boost business WLANs

Roaming, VoIP enhancements on the way

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

Posted in Wireless, 23rd August 2005 21:20 GMT

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IDF Intel and Cisco today announced they will co-develop a proprietary set of enterprise-oriented WLAN enhancements.

The scheme, which builds on the two firms' existing wireless alliance, will improve VoIP call quality and access point selection for Centrino notebooks connected to Cisco base-stations.

The VoIP component essentially ensures conversations get sufficient bandwidth and routing priority to ensure calls aren't dropped and audio fidelity is maintained, the two companies said.

At the same time, the access point technology ensures the client connects to the most suitable base-station, with the choice being determined not by proximity but by available bandwidth and connection speed. The upshot, Intel and Cisco said, would be "more reliable and efficient roaming" within the WLAN's zone of coverage.

Both features will be incorporated into the Business-class Wireless Suite, which will ship with Cisco's Unified Wireless Architecture-enabled access points and Centrino notebooks during Q1 2006, in the 'Napa' next-generation Centrino release timeframe.

Separately, the two companies said Cisco will support Intel's Active Management Technology (AMT) initiative, while Intel will back Cisco's Network Admission Control (NAC) WLAN security initiative. ®

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