Wi-Fi is a general term often used to refer to technology allowing internet access. Wi-Fi standards vary widely. Various devices such as routers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and smart home devices use wireless standards to connect to the internet.
This standard continues to evolve. The update aims to improve connection quality, speed up internet speeds, and support more simultaneous connections. However, these wireless standards and specifications are often confusing for many people.
Wi-Fi Standards
The behavior of your Wi-Fi network, as well as other data transmission networks, is governed by a set of services and protocols known as wireless standards. The two most common standards are IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Mesh.
Every few years, IEEE makes updates to the Wi-Fi 802.11 standard. Currently, the most widely used Wi-Fi standard is 802.11ac, although 802.11ax, also known as Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, is in the process of implementation, although it is slower than expected by experts.
The generation after 802.11ax is now in the development stage, with IEEE 802.11be expected to launch sometime in 2024-2025, which will be known as Wi-Fi 7.
A Brief History of Wi-Fi Standards
Not all legacy Wi-Fi standards are the same. Here is a brief history of some of the Wi-Fi standards, as well as information on whether or not they are still in use.
- IEEE 802.11: This standard was first developed in 1997 with a maximum speed of 54 megabits per second (Mbps). This standard is obsolete and is no longer used by modern devices.
- IEEE 802.11a: Developed in 1999, this standard operates on a 5GHz frequency with a data rate of up to 54Mbps. However, the 5GHz frequency tends to be less good at penetrating objects so it often has limited range.
- IEEE 802.11b: This standard was also developed in 1999 and operates at a frequency of 2.4GHz with a maximum speed of 11Mbps. It was this standard that started the popularity of Wi-Fi.
- IEEE 802.11g: Introduced in 2003, this standard increases data rates to 54Mbps at a reliable 2.4GHz frequency, making it widely adopted.
- IEEE 802.11n: Although it was introduced in 2009, its adoption was slow. The standard supports multi-channel use and operates on 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies with data rates of up to 600Mbps, limited to a maximum speed of 150Mbps per channel.
At the moment, the IEEE 802.11ac standard is the most commonly used, offering an increase in data throughput of up to 1,300 megabits per second since its launch in 2014. This ac standard also includes features such as MU-MIMO compatibility, more channels for 5GHz frequencies, and support for multiple antennas on a single router.
The next evolution is the IEEE 802.11ax standard, which promises theoretical network performance of up to 10Gbps, an improvement of about 30-40% over the ac standard. In addition, the ax standard will improve MU-MIMO, support more simultaneous data streams, and introduce broadcast subchannels to increase network capacity.
The specification for 802.11be is still in development, but this technology is expected to replace 802.11ax in the future. According to the IEEE Xplore document, 802.11be will offer twice the bandwidth and a greater number of spatial streams, which can result in data rates of up to 40Gbps when combined.