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St Louis Home Loan Consumers May Have Negative Equity Till 2014 Or Later

By | Posted in Wealth Management

By Floyd J. Tapia

The latest report by First American CoreLogic seem to say the worst as far as home equity. They estimate that throughout the nation, homeowners who have negative equity may not see any improvement until 2014 or as late as 2016 as far as seeing any positive equitable changes to occur.

But the news may get even worse instead of better. For homeowners who are living in certain parts of the United States where it is being considered severely depressed markets, those consumers in a “underwater” or negative equity position may have to wait till 2020 or later for any positive news.

Current statistics are showing that an unbelievable 11.3 million homeowners are in this underwater equitable state when it comes to their home equity. This is a ghastly 24 percent of the U.S. mortgage market at the end of the fourth quarter in 2009 according to CoreLogic.

St Louis lending experts are somewhat sure and are now saying that the largest decreases in overall home prices has already hit the consumer. But questions arise as to the actual time frame it will take for these borrowers to recoup their original home investment.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycQr2zDgPUM[/youtube]

Homeowners throughout the nation are wanting answers to this financial horror story and by using projected future home values and unpaid principal balances for a selected set of Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs), CoreLogic is optimistic with figuring out how long it will take for the average underwater consumer to return to positive equity.

According to these initial projections, it will take the average borrower until 2015 or even the early part of 2016 for negative equity to completely disappear. And that is entirely dependent on how quickly this recession ends and if new jobs start opening up for those unemployed.

But on the other hand, let’s take Detroit or similar cities that have been economically devastated. They have been and still are facing historically severe housing market. They may not see any form of positive equity until 2020. And it is being said negative equity has been and continues to be a trigger to strategic default.

There have been reports that the United States Treasury Department is going to approach various lenders and mortgage servicers to offer homeowners principal reductions on their home mortgages by making this available through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refinancing division. This seems to be the optimistic solution to this mammoth problem.

Whereas millions of hopeful consumers including St Louis mortgage owners are awaiting the day that their homes start appreciating and it time that will happen, an economist shared a more direct solution stating that by paying down one’s own loan balance it would no doubt bring about a quicker solution to this negative equity debacle.

Now as far as loan payments and price increases are concerned, St Louis mortgage brokers are saying that over the next 10 years, the average loan balance will decrease by an annual rate of 3.3 percent. But the average home price is expected to increase at a 3 percent annual rate over the same time period. Again, not much profit as regards home appreciation. We will have to wait and see.

About the Author: If you are wanting the best lending options on a St Louis refinancing and cash-out refinance or various types of St Louis home loans, visit our St Louis mortgage broker websites or call Steve, Doug or Floyd Tapia, the host of the St. Louis Refinancing Mortgage Minute at 877-334-0210 or 314-334-0210.

Source: isnare.com

Permanent Link: isnare.com/?aid=531122&ca=Finances

July 26, 2018 – 1:16 am
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Rare 1856 Double Eagle gold coin sells for US$345,000 in California

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Rare 1856 Double Eagle gold coin sells for US$345,000 in California
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

An exceptionally rare coin, which had been hidden in a family collection for over a century, sold at Heritage Auction Galleries Californian Coin Auction for US$345,000.

The 1856-O Double Eagle gold coin, rated as XF45+ (XF meaning Extremely Fine) was discovered in July 2010, having been held by a family after it had been held in the James Bullock collection. Given a value in the auctioneer’s catalogue of $220,000, it quickly rose past that with the help of the 5,000 bidders Heritage say were involved in the auction.

The coin is believed to be one of 20 or fewer examples available commercially. Two are in the Smithsonian Museum.

The President of Heritage Auctions, Greg Rohan, said, “We were all quite impressed overall with how these coins performed”. He continued, “Collectors continue to respond enthusiastically to the best and rarest examples, as evidenced by the heated competition for the Bullock 1856-O double eagle. We don’t expect to see a drop-off in gold demand as the year comes to a close and we hold our last few auctions of 2010.”

Overall, Heritage said that a $13.4 million total was achieved with 96% of lots sold.

July 26, 2018 – 1:15 am
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Prince Philip of UK makes last solo public engagement after 65 years

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Prince Philip of UK makes last solo public engagement after 65 years
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Saturday, August 5, 2017

The United Kingdom’s Prince Philip, 96, performed his last solo official royal public engagement, before retiring from his official duties as the consort of Queen Elizabeth II after 65 years of service, with a Captain General’s parade of the Royal Marines at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

As the Captain General, he took the royal salute and inspected the soldiers to mark the end of the 1664 Global Challenge. He told the soldiers humorously “You all should be locked up” after they completed a 2,678 kilometer (1664 mile) trek in support of the Royal Marines Charity. 

Buckingham Palace announced Philip’s retirement plan in May. Philip succeeded King George VI — Elizabeth’s father — as Captain General of marines in 1953, the year after she succeeded him as monarch. On the announcement in May, Prime Minister Theresa May offered her well wishes and gratitude to Prince Philip, 95 years old at the time.

Lady Myra Butter, an acquaintance of Philip’s for more than eight decades, said on BBC Radio 4 program Today, of Philip’s future after retirement, “I’m sure that he won’t disappear, he will be greatly missed by everybody. He’s been such a stable character in all our lives — he’s always there and he’s always been there for the Queen and I think we’re very, very lucky to have him.”

Serving longer than any other British consort, Philip has made 22,219 solo public engagements as consort, 637 solo overseas visits, 5,496 speeches, and 14 books. He currently supports or belongs to more than 780 organisations.

Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, is a nephew of late King Constantine I of Greece, and was born on the Greek island of Corfu. Philip is a former naval officer and courted Elizabeth during his service in the Royal Navy. He married her in 1947 in Westminster Abbey. This November will be their 70th wedding anniversary. Elizabeth described Philip as “my strength and stay”.

July 25, 2018 – 1:17 am
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Honolulu man dies after fall into sewage-contaminated harbor

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Honolulu man dies after fall into sewage-contaminated harbor
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Saturday, April 8, 2006

A Honolulu man who fell into the sewage-contaminated Ala Wai Yacht Harbor died Thursday night of a massive bacterial infection that caused the loss of one of his legs, septic shock, and ultimately organ failure.

Oliver Johnson, 34, a Honolulu mortgage broker, died between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. HST Thursday (0715-0730 UTC Friday) when his family removed him from life support. On Friday, March 31, Johnson had apparently fallen into the waters of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, located at the mouth of the Ala Wai Canal on the western side of Waikiki.

At the time, the canal and surrounding beaches were contaminated by over 48 million gallons of untreated sewage. The extent to which the sewage spill contributed to Johnson’s symptoms remains unclear.

Johnson earlier reported that he had fallen accidentally into the harbor, then later indicated that he had been involved in a fight on board a boat and had been pushed or thrown into the harbor waters. A security guard at Johnson’s apartment reported that he was bloodied and soaking wet, and that he stumbled into the lobby and collapsed. Paramedics took Johnson to Straub Hospital where he was treated and released.

Johnson reported steadily worsening leg pain that weekend and was admitted to Queen’s Hospital on Sunday with breathing difficulties. Doctors that night amputated his left leg above the knee to try to halt the spread of the infection, and Johnson was placed in a medically induced coma.

Initially suspecting that Johnson had contracted streptococcus-caused necrotizing fasciitis, doctors later found that Johnson had contracted three different bacteria, two of which, vibrio vulnificus and aeromonas hydrophila, have flesh-eating properties. Despite the amputation, Johnson’s condition steadily worsened to the point where doctors said that his other leg and left arm would also have needed to be amputated to save his life.

An autopsy performed by the Honolulu medical examiner’s office reported that Johnson had suffered from massive organ failure caused by septic shock. The medical examiner noted that Johnson had a vulnificus infection on his foot and suffered from chronic alcoholic liver disease which may have contributed to the infection’s taking hold.

The Honolulu Police Department has opened a third-degree assault case; with Johnson’s death, homicide detectives are also investigating. State health officials are also investigating Johnson’s illness.

Johnson’s family has retained an attorney to investigate the causes surrounding his illness and death. It is not clear yet whether any legal action will be taken.

July 25, 2018 – 1:05 am
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Surgeons reattach boy’s three severed limbs

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Surgeons reattach boy’s three severed limbs
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.

The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.

“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.

“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.

“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.

“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”

The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.

Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”

The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.

“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.

The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:

“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”

Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.

July 24, 2018 – 1:30 am
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Sea lion walks from beach into Pantai Inn in California

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Sea lion walks from beach into Pantai Inn in California
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

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Last Tuesday early morning, a sea lion walked from the beach into Pantai Inn in La Jolla, California. The animal was rescued by local animal rescue authorities. Wikinews took an interview from Shane Pappas, a General Manager of the inn.

((Wikinews)) At what time of day did the sea lion enter the Inn?

Shane Pappas: Surveillance footage shows that our sea lion friend made her way onto our property at approximately 5:45am on Tuesday morning. She waddled through our courtyard and climbed up onto one of our lounge chairs.

((WN)) How long did he stay in the Inn before he was moved out of the building?

Shane Pappas: The sea lion was not seen by our staff until about 6:30am. At that point my front desk agent Veronica made frantic calls to the authorities to find someone to come rescue the sea lion. By the time we got a hold of Sea World they were able to come and rescue her at around 9:45am. All told the sea lion was here for about four hours.

((WN)) What do you think attracted the animal? Was it the radio sound? Was it heard as far as the beach?

Shane Pappas: We’re not sure what attracted the sea lion. We like to think that it was the beauty and relaxation of our courtyard. In regards to the radio sound I’m not sure what you are referring to.

((WN)) Who and how transported the animal out of the building?

Shane Pappas: A gentleman named Bill who is a rescue worker with Sea World came out to rescue the pup. He asked if I would assist in the rescue which I was more than happy to do. It’s not every day that you get to rescue a sea lion.

((WN)) Where was the animal transported to?

Shane Pappas: The sea lion was loaded into a crate on a truck and transported back to Sea World. She will be kept there for six weeks so that she can be nursed back to health and returned to the wild.

July 24, 2018 – 1:13 am
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United States Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announces retirement

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United States Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announces retirement
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Current United States Speaker of the House and 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection and plans to retire from the U.S. House of Representatives when his term expires in January.

“We all know that I did not seek this job, I took it reluctantly, but I have given this job everything I have and I have no regret whatsoever in accepting this responsibility,” Ryan told the press. Ryan took over the Speaker position after John Boehner retired in 2015. Ryan cited wanting to spend more time with his three children. Some reports suggested he was also disillusioned with the Trump presidency. Ryan contradicted this in public: “I’m grateful to the president for giving us this opportunity to do big things to get this country on the right track,” he said. According to Axios, Ryan considered last December’s restructuring of the U.S. tax code to be the most important accomplishment during his time as Speaker.

President Trump said via Twitter, “Speaker Paul Ryan is a truly good man, and while he will not be seeking re-election, he will leave a legacy of achievement that nobody can question. We are with you Paul!”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Ryan as “a good man who is always true to his word” and said “[w]ith his newfound political freedom, I hope the Speaker uses his remaining time in Congress to break free from the hard-right factions of his caucus that have kept Congress from getting real things done.”

Not all reactions to Ryan’s departure were admiring. While various Democrats and others have opposed Ryan for his Republican views, many Republicans have criticized what they describe as a lack of support for President Trump’s projects, such as the US Mexico border wall Trump has proposed to build on the U.S. border with Mexico. Far-right media outlet Breitbart News described Ryan on Tuesday as “the leader of the globalist wing of the Republican Party,” citing his “pro-immigration, wage-crushing, big business-first record, whereby American workers have been left behind by multinational free trade and mass immigration.” Fox News commentator Sebastian Gorka tweeted “GOOD RIDDANCE.” Amongst late-night comedians, Stephen Colbert of The Late Show called him “CrossFit Dracula” in a reference to his well-documented fondness for fitness programs: “He said today he wants to spend more time with his wife and kids. Which, of course, is what he calls his biceps.” Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show added “House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he is retiring from Congress. He said he wants to spend more time with his children at home, and less time with the child in the White House.”

Paul Ryan currently represents a district in southeastern Wisconsin. As of January, he will have served twenty years in the United States Congress.

According to Business Insider, waiting until January of next year would push Ryan into a slightly higher pension bracket within the Federal Employees Retirement System because his time as Speaker will give him three years at a sustained salary of US$223,500. If he retires as planned, he would be eligible to draw noticeably more annually than if he retired sooner.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, asked by Fox News whether he would run for Ryan’s position as Speaker, responded with a reference to the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, “We’re getting way ahead of ourselves. […] We’ve got to make sure we keep the majority.”

In November, one third of the U.S. Senate and the entire House of Representatives are up for re-election. The Republicans currently have a majority in both houses of congress, but would lose control of the House if the Democrats gained 23 out of its 435 seats. Close to 30 Republicans have announced they would be retiring this year. BBC analyst Anthony Zurcher speculates Ryan may be retiring now to preserve his reputation for a presidential run sometime in the future.

In the U.S. government, the Speaker of the House automatically assumes the presidency if the president and vice president are both killed or incapacitated. The Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Representatives, and so is usually a member of whichever of the two main political parities happens to have the majority that session.

July 23, 2018 – 1:31 am
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Unbundling Of European Energy Markets? Not If The French And Germans Get Their Way.}

By | Posted in Public Relations

Unbundling of European Energy Markets? Not if the French and Germans get their way.

by

Emma Churchill-4587Although Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes argues this will have little impact upon Brussels’ tough stance against cartels, illegal subsidies and protectionism; many legal experts support the stance that the new arrangement will weaken the Commissioner’s ability to crack down on such ongoing practices.

As if to rub salt in the wounds, recent comments following the approved merger between GDF and Suez by Jean-Pierre Jouyet, France’s Europe Minister are likely to further inflame relations. Referring to the merger, Jouyet remarked to journalists: ‘its a vision of what could be the energy policy for Europe’. This must be particularly upsetting to Kroes who has been careful to ensure that the merger was scrutinised from top to bottom to seek out any adverse effect on competition, also making certain the disposal of assets and concessions formed the founding conditions for any potential deal.

To retaliate, Jouyet further expanded on the growing division between Paris and Brussels by stating that Kroes’ unbundling plan was ‘… an ideological view, we have a strategic view. It is a better balance between European interests and competition rules’.

Since this delicate and public series of events, Kroes has made no attempt to hide her determination to fight nail and tooth against the protectionist policies of the French, German and Spanish member states. Although she remained silent during the summit negotiations, one observer believes that ‘Ms. Kroes and her advisors were alarmed at the apparent lack of concern from liberal countries such as Britain and Sweden and also from Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission President’. Mr Barrosso seemed convinced beforehand that erasing competition as an objective had no legal bearing, since the policy was mentioned 13 times elsewhere in the treaty. However, the French government and other legal experts clearly think differently.

Whatever the legal contentions, the Commission will this month present detailed proposals for an overhaul of EU energy market regulations. EU Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs is expected to suggest that the integrated groups within member states be forced to sell their electricity grids and pipeline networks a definite first step towards unbundling. But just how far this will be allowed to progress depends greatly on the strength of the influential French and German lobbies.

So, why should a business within a single EU member state concern itself with what is going on with competition policy across the whole of the EU? Any attempt to stifle competition in Europe will have a profound effect on our UK market. As we are highly dependent on Europe for much of our energy supply and as current European practices falsely peg the wholesale gas price to the price of oil, it is in our best interest to see a break-up of the unhealthy dominant forces which control and distort the market mechanism.

Examples of this distortion are currently being investigated by the Commission. These concerns surround the withholding of production capacity on electricity markets with the view to raise prices.

Lastly, commentators have claimed there is abuse of electricity balancing markets and since this is likely to have greatest effect on newer entrants and thus, for smaller players who regularly depend on these sources, it is a limiting factor on the expansion activity of these businesses.

For interviews, quotes, images or comments contact:

Emma Churchill Communications ExecutiveE4BPhone: 01908 353358Email: echurchill@electricity4business.co.ukOrBernard ScallyMRA Public RelationsPhone: 020 8847 2538Email: scallywag.com@virgin.netReferences: BBC News, Alex Ritson (European Business Reporter), 22.06.2007: EU Deal drops free competitionFinancial Times, Michel Petite (Director General, Legal Service, European Commission), 25.06.2007: EU Commitment to competition policy is unchangedFinancial Times, Tobias Buck & George Parker, 25.06.2007: Kroes vows to maintain firm and fair line on competitionFinancial Times, Andrew Bounds; Tobias Buck & Sarah Laitner, 05.08.2007: French energy deal ‘a vision’

Article Source:

eArticlesOnline.com}

July 23, 2018 – 1:31 am
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Woman finds human finger in bowl of chili at Wendy’s restaurant

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Woman finds human finger in bowl of chili at Wendy’s restaurant
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Thursday, March 24, 2005

San Jose, California — A woman eating a bowl of chili at a Wendy’s restaurant bit into a chewy bit that turned out to be a human finger. She immediately spat it out, warned other patrons to stop eating, and upon recognizing the object as a finger, vomited.

“I’m more of a Carl’s Jr. person,” the 39-year-old Las Vegas woman, Anna Ayala, told Knight Ridder. She said this incident was her first visit to a Wendy’s restaurant. Ayala described how she found the finger, “Suddenly something crunchy was in my mouth,” she continued, “and I spit it out.”

According to Devina Cordero, 20, after Ayala found the finger, she ran up to her and Cordero’s boyfriend and said, “Don’t eat it! Look, there’s a human finger in our chili.”

“We went up to the counter and they told us it was a vegetable,” Cordero continued. “The people from Wendy’s were poking it with a spoon.”

The restaurant is located at 1405 Monterey Highway, just south of downtown San Jose.

Wikinews reporter David Vasquez drove his car up to the drive-thru menu and found that chili was still on the menu, at a price of US$1.19 for a small serving. He also witnessed workers unloading supplies from a semi-trailer truck in the restaurant’s parking lot, and carting them into the back door of the establishment.

According to Ben Gale, director of environmental health for Santa Clara County, the finger did not come from any of the employees at the restaurant. “We asked everybody to show us they have 10 fingers and everything is OK there,” he said. The found portion of the finger likely belonged to a woman because of its long and manicured fingernail, also found in the food.

Officials seized the food supply at the restaurant and are tracing it back to the manufacturer, where they believe the finger may have gotten mixed in with the raw ingredients used to prepare the chili. The restaurant’s operators were later permitted to re-open after preparing new chili prepared from fresh ingredients.

As this story was filed, there was no mention of the incident on the Wendy’s corporate web site. Wendy’s issued a statement through a spokesman.

“Food safety is of utmost importance to us,” said Wendy’s spokesman Joe Desmond. He referred to the incident as an “unsubstantiated claim.”

“We are cooperating fully with the local police and health departments with their investigation. It’s important not to jump to conclusions. Here at Wendy’s we plan to do right by our customers,” Desmond said.

According to county health officials, the unfortunate woman who bit into the finger is doing fine, despite her initial reaction. Officials also noted that the finger would have been cooked at a high enough temperature to destroy any viruses.

The Santa Clara county medical examiner reported that the finger had a solid fingerprint, although investigators did not say if a search of fingerprint databases would be performed to find the owner of the finger.

 This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.
This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

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Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

July 23, 2018 – 1:30 am
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IEEE approves 802.11n standard after six years

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IEEE approves 802.11n standard after six years
By | Posted in Uncategorized

Saturday, September 12, 2009

On Friday, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ratified the next generation of Wi-Fi Alliance certification known as 802.11n. The path to ratification began on September 11, 2003 with 11 major drafts of the specification over the course of six years. Even though just approved, wireless devices have been available on the the market for over two years, running on what is known as “draft n” or “pre-N”.

The 802.11n standard operates on both the 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz frequencies. This will allow it to be backwards compatible with 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g, provided that the base station has dual radios. The speeds of 802.11n are substantially faster than that of its predecessors with a maximum theoretical throughput of 600Mbit/s.

Very few additions were made to the 802.11n draft standard over the last two years, so most if not all “draft n” hardware available on the market today is expected to be compatible with n-standard devices available in the future. In a similar process of the upgrade from “pre-G” to 802.11g, it is expected that most manufacturers of wireless hardware will release new firmware to bring all draft devices up to full standard compliance.

July 23, 2018 – 1:29 am
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