WLAN Consortium FAQ

1. What is the WLAN Consortium?
2. What is the relationship between the WLAN Consortium and the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA)?
3. What is the relationship between the WLAN Consortium and the WLAN Standards bodies?
4. Is this a certification program?
5. Is participation in the WLAN Consortium mandatory?
6. What services does the WLAN Consortium currently offer?
7. How can involvement in the WLAN Consortium save my company money?
8. How much does it cost?

1. How do I schedule testing?
2. How long does the testing take?
3. Do I need to be present during testing?
4. What do the test reports look like?
5. Who will see the results of the testing performed on my product?
6. Does the WLAN Consortium offer training?

1. Can I request special testing for my WLAN product?

The UNH-IOL WLAN Consortium is an industry-supported organization that works in conjunction with companies to provide a neutral test environment and industry accepted test methodologies for the purpose of promoting and fostering interoperability of WLAN devices.

[Top]

The WLAN Consortium is a separate entity from the Wi-Fi Alliance, but supports the Alliances mission in promoting WLAN technology, specifically through the technical efforts related to interoperability and conformance testing relative to the various WLAN specifications.

[Top]

The WLAN Consortium is a separate entity from the IEEE 802.11 Working Group and the various 802.11 Task Groups. The UNH-IOL has been a contributor to the development of the various WLAN standards (IEEE 802.11), attending and participating in task group meetings from the initial Calls for Interest (CFI), through the respective final meetings.
The test suites developed by the WLAN Consortium are based heavily on the WLAN standards. In addition, the WLAN Consortium takes an active role in continuing to review and refine the WLAN standard by submitting maintenance and interpretation requests to the IEEE 802.11 Working Group.

[Top]

No. The WLAN Consortium is not a certification or "logo" program, and the UNH-IOL is in no way acting as a regulatory body for the various WLAN standards (though it is not uncommon for the UNH-IOL to feed information back into the standards process when necessary, in cases where interoperability or conformance issues are discovered during testing, which are due to flaws and/or ambiguities in the standard.)

Companies that utilize of the WLAN Consortium will receive formal reports documenting the results of the testing performed, these reports are intended for use in identifying and documenting issues pertaining to interoperability and conformance, so that companies may improve their products. Reports are also often used to verify to customers that a specific device or product has undergone third-party, independent testing at the UNH-IOL.

A member may choose to circulate their own reports, consistent with the UNH-IOL Usage Agreement. These reports are highly detailed and technical in nature and while they are more complex than a simple certificate, a vendor may claim that they have passed consistent with section 6.2.2 of the UNH-IOL Usage Agreement.

[Top]

No. Participation in the WLAN Consortium is 100% voluntary.

A summary of WLAN Consortium can be viewed on our Services Page.

[Top]

Perhaps the primary financial benefit of the WLAN Consortium lies in the physical and protocol compliance test services, which provide an additional cost-savings to vendors who do not wish to spend internal resources to develop this testing on their own. Members can benefit from the UNH-IOL expertise that has already been developed in these areas, and eliminate time spent "reinventing the wheel" internally. Plus, members get the added benefit of knowing that the test procedures and methodologies used have been reviewed and accepted by the member community, thus decreasing the potential for uncertainty in the interpretation of various aspects of the standard, or implementation of the tests.

Furthermore, because the UNH-IOL does not require members to physically be present at the lab during scheduled testing (though attendance is certainly welcome), members save additionally in both travel expenses, and the work time that is reclaimed by not having to travel to an off-site facility for testing, as is the case with a plugfest. Members get plugfest-level testing without the travel costs, and time spent away from work.



[Top]

For information on pricing, please see the pay per test fee page.

Complete instructions for requesting scheduled testing slots can be found on our Request Testing page.

[Top]

The estimated time required for each of our Consortiums can be found on the Test Suites page, under the heading for each test suite.

[Top]

No. Attendance is not required in order for testing to be performed, although it is not uncommon for members to be present during scheduled testing. Members are welcome and encouraged to attend, as it is often easier to troubleshoot issues as they are discovered when the vendor is present in the lab.

[Top]

Sample reports for the various Consortiums are available for download on our Test Suites page.

[Top]

Confidentiality of results is of the utmost importance, and is taken very seriously. All test results are documented in formal UNH-IOL test reports, which are provided solely to the member who requested testing. Results are not shared, and are not publicly released by the UNH-IOL. The report recipients are free to distribute copies of their test reports at their discretion, provided they adhere to the guidelines described in section 6.2.1 of the UNH-IOL Usage Agreement.

[Top]

The WLAN Consortium does not offer training via any formal means, however, as a consortium member, vendors are entitled to full disclosure of the test procedures and methodologies utilized for all aspects of UNH-IOL testing. Members may opt to use scheduled lab time to work one-on-one with UNH-IOL staff to learn the technical details of any test services developed by the consortium, which may not already be documented in the publicly available Test Suites.

[Top]

The WLAN Consortium is always looking for new ways to provide useful Consortiums to its members. As such, we are always open to suggestions for new types of tests to support, and are always interested in working with specific members to develop new capabilities and test services, particularly if they are beneficial to multiple Consortium members. If there is some particular type of testing that you would like to see developed as part of the Consortium, please feel free to contact The Wireless Consortium.