Unlike 11n, the new standard probably won't get cheaper to the point where it replaces current technology as the standard installation on laptops and other products, Dickson said. Whereas the 11n standard allows vendors to use multiple antennas in an access point or client radio, 11ac requires it, he said. That will keep the new technology as a premium product for special needs, he said. "There will always be a cost premium on [11]ac," Dickson said.

Because of cost and the fact that it will drive more speed than a phone would typically need, 11ac is not likely to be built into many handsets, Dickson said. As a result, most carriers probably won't deploy it as part of a cellular offload strategy, he added.

Despite its high speed, 11ac won't cut into sales of WiGig, an emerging multigigabit system for short-range wireless links, typically between two devices in the same room, Dickson said. WiGig will use high frequencies in the 60GHz band, while 802.11ac will use the same bands as 802.11n. And whereas WiGig would be used mostly for applications such as streaming video from a PC to a monitor or TV, the 11ac standard is intended for traditional wireless LANs with a central access point and a variety of connected clients, he said.

The IDG News Service