WAPI, China's wireless encryption standard, is gaining the industry support needed to speed up the system's commercialization which could continue to cause a rift between China and the United States.

 

A growing number of companies, including China's top four telecom operators, are throwing their weight behind the technology and challenging the 802.11 encryption standard, which is backed by US technology firms such as Intel, said Jiang Shiping, chairman of the WAPI Alliance.

 

"A complete WAPI industry chain is already taking shape and it is set to prevail in China," he said.

 

About 30 WAPI products ranging from chips to terminals are already available. PC makers including Lenovo and Founder Technology, as well as Japan's Sony, have rolled out laptops that support WAPI, Jiang said.

 

Wireless encryption helps protect the privacy of wireless Internet users. Chinese companies argue WAPI is more secure than the 802.11 standard.

 

China has been promoting its own technology standards, hoping to give domestic companies an advantage.

 

In December 2003, the government issued an order to make WAPI a mandatory national standard, beginning on June 1, 2004.

 

In March 2004, former US secretary of state Colin Powell, commerce secretary Don Evans and US trade representative Robert Zoellick sent a joint letter to Chinese officials, urging them to drop the WAPI standard.

 

China agreed to delay WAPI's implementation at the biannual strategic economic dialogue between the US and China in June 2004.

 

But the Chinese government issued a notice in 2005 asking all government bodies to make WAPI a priority in government procurement.

 

Industry insiders said the government recently expanded the procurement category for WAPI products.

 

WAPI will likely be discussed at this year's Sino-US Strategic Economic Dialogue, which started yesterday. The US is expected to press China to hold a "neutral" stance regarding technology standards, including WAPI and standards for mobile phones.

 

Jiang said a mature industry chain and market demands for secure wireless Internet access are helping WAPI gain momentum.

 

The WAPI Alliance was formed in 2006 between 22 members, including the top four telecom operators, Lenovo and Huawei, a top Chinese telecoms equipment maker. Its membership has grown to 29.

 

Industry insiders say Chinese operators may adopt WAPI as the wireless encryption standard at Olympic Games venues, which could be a blow to 802.11. Jiang would not comment on this.

 

"We are expecting WAPI to be widely used in corporate and home wireless networks," he said.

 

Wireless networks, also known as WLAN (wireless local area network), have developed slowly in China's public spaces, such as coffee shops, compared to Western countries.

 

But wireless networks are becoming increasingly popular at home. Some companies are also setting up WLANs in offices, enabling employees to access the Internet and corporate networks wirelessly.

 

(China Daily May 23, 2007)