Certification for Wireless Network Professionals Available

Network professionals interested in certification for WLAN infrastructure installation and maintenance can now become certified at three levels of expertise. Planet3 Wireless, Inc. and Prometric Thomson Learning announced an agreement today about the launch of Planet3 Wireless’ new Certified Wireless Network Professional Program (CWNP).

The CWNP will be available at over 1,300 Prometric test sites in North America. Planet3 Wireless claims that it is the first vendor-neutral wireless certification for network engineers and administrators. The program is designed to address the growing demand for network professionals capable of implementing and administering diverse brands of WLAN equipment. It offers a standard measure of knowledge for people responsible for such tasks at three levels of expertise.

The first level of the CWNP program is called the Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA). It became available July 16, 2001 at Prometric testing centers in North America. Exams can be scheduled at Prometric’s Web site. The CWNA exam measures basic knowledge of wireless LAN technology, WLAN security, 802.11 standards, potential causes of interference, vendor-specific information and site survey methodology. Planet3 Wireless also stated that candidates will have the opportunity to earn the Certified Wireless Network Integrator (CWNI) and Certified Wireless Network Engineer (CWNE) by the end of 2001 and early 2002, respectively. The first two certification exams will take the form of 60 question exams administered by Prometric. The CWNE certification requires a 2-day, hands-on lab examination.

Prometric is the technology based testing and assessment division of Thomson Learning, which itself is a part of the Thomson Corporation. Prometric, based in Baltimore, MD, has over 4,100 testing centers in 128 countries. Thomson Corporation had 2000 revenues of $6.0 billion. Planet3 Wireless provides content for certifying network administrators and trainers in WLAN technology. Through an agreement with Wireless-Nets, Ltd, Planet3 Wireless has created educational materials to support the CWNP program.