Intel today launched 802.11a WLAN cards into Europe, or quite a lot of it. The company has received regulatory approval for the use of 802.11a products in France, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden. And it reckons other European countries will soon follow suit. It's also shipping the Intel PRO/Wireless 2000 Land Dual Band Access Point continent-wide. This supports 802.11b clients and delivers an upgrade path to 802.11a. And it's bundling together an access point and two notebook adapters into a 802.11a starter kit. It says that PCI and mini-PCI adaptors

The data transfer rate for 802.11a cards is theoretically 54Mbps, approximately five times faster than the 11Mbps available for 802.11b equivalents. In practice, the real speed for both technologies is around half the stated maximum. It's been a long haul getting 802.11a through Europe's maze of regulators, many of which have been less than keen to free up radio spectrum for its use. Procrastination over choosing rival wireless standards also means that Europe has lagged behind the US and some Asian countries in adopting 802.11a.