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WiFi compatibility -Linksys says "It's not our fault! - it's Netgear."

by Staff Writer | posted on 04 March 2004


A swift response from Linksys: corporate communications manager, Karen Sohl, says that the Computing Which? report is wrong if it suggests that there's any standards failure by Linksys.

The story ran earlier this week reporting that Netgear's WiFi bridge failed to interoperate with the Linksys Wireless-G router when tested at that magazine's premises.

Not surprising, says an indignant Linksys. And they're particularly vexed at the headline which was put on the story when other news sites picked it up: "In regards to the story you posted: "Linksys falls off WiFi Bridge" --- I wanted to let you know that Netgear's WGE101 is not WiFi Certified," said Sohl in a letter to NewsWireless.

Here is a list of all WiFi Certified products. Select Netgear in the "filter" box, hit "submit" and, as Sohl, points out "you'll see that WGE101 is not on the list."

Reasonably enough, Sohl points out that it can't be Linksys's fault if other gear which is not certified fails to talk to Linksys gear which is. "Linksys can not guarantee interoperability with other vendors unless these other Vendors also conform to the industry standard set forth by the Wi-Fi Alliance."

Do the same check on Linksys WRT54G and you'll find it is on the list.

And just in case you aren't clear: "I would ask that you re-clarify this point to your readers. In this case, Linksys should not be at fault or be stated as "Linksys falls off WiFi Bridge". We take every step to conform and follow standard rules so that our products are compatible and Interoperable with other vendors that have taken the steps as well."

What little feedback has been received about the Netgear device suggests that Computing Which? isn't the first to find that it is quirky.

Netgear appears to be considering its response ...


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