The 802.11a standard has failed, according to some wireless LAN (WLAN) vendors, and it will take the implementation of the IEEE"s proposed 108Mbit/s 802.11n specification to persuade both WLAN equipment makers and users to invest in kit that transmits data in the 5 GHz radio frequency waveband.
"I think 802.11a is just about dead," said Michael Wagner, worldwide marketing director for Linksys, a division of Cisco that currently manufactures and sells a mix of 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a equipment. "Less than five percent of our sales are 802.11a and it has not increased in the last two years. [But] I think 802.11n will re-ignite interest in the 5 GHz spectrum."