Ya want Wi-Fi in that?

According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, 56 percent of those surveyed want Wi-Fi in their next phone, although they´re "not always informed as to why they need it". The words of Karen Hanley, the Alliance´s chief - I was chatting with her earlier today at Mobile World Congress in Barca.

The Alliance didn´t really have much news to share this week (they´re not the only ones), other than to say that it has now certified 200 Wi-Fi devices in the Wi-Fi Protected Setup scheme - a programme set up to make the pairing of devices easier for consumers, using technologies like PINs and near-field communications. Oh, and 60-something percent of people would rather give up chocolate than Wi-Fi.

It was an interesting chat, though. IEEE approval for 802.11n is now apparently expected for mid-2009, but never mind, "the stability of draft 2.0 is very good". Almost 30 million draft 2.0 devices have been shipped. According to Hanley, "we have been seeing more interest in the enterprise space for 11n than we might have expected" - figure out the connotations of that amongst yourselves.

What about BT Fusion, I asked. Apparently a senior BT bod will be addressing the Alliance´s membership "in a few weeks", and he has assured the Wi-Fi overlords that fixed-mobile convergence is "still a key part of [BT´s] offering". Huzzah!

And what does the Alliance think of this newfangled WiMax business? "A good complement" to Wi-Fi, particularly for backhaul, but more expensive because it doesn´t have Wi-Fi´s benefit of unlicenced spectrum. All true.