Proxim today forecast the death of the 2.4GHz band -- but only at the high-end -- announcing plans to endorse the HyperLAN standard and introduce a HiperLAN wireless LAN product line. The US-based wireless LAN manufacturer says the future lies with HyperLAN Type 1 wireless LAN standard. Proxim's new product line RangeLAN5 will be compliant with the HiperLAN standard, support 24Mbps data rates and operate in the 5GHz band. Proxim claims it will be the industry's fastest standards-based wireless LAN. It also thinks that HyperLAN will soon be obsolete. The driving force behind this move is the increasing use of multimedia and demand for higher speed technology. Proxim says the product line, due for sample shipment to OEMs in Q3 and to customers in Q1 next year, will offer high multimedia quality. It will distinguish between voice, video and data applications. The company also endorses this standard because it claims HiperLAN systems, operating at 5GHz, will not interfere with installed 2.4GHz wireless LANs. Scott Ruck, Proxim product manager for high speed networking, said: "5GHz products will be available very soon. Customers will be faced with one product that supports multimedia and one that doesn't for the same price. That's why we believe the 2.4GHz 11Mbps products won't be a very permanent product line."