802.11 Standards (802.11 through to 802.11be) and Associated Standards
The following page details the main 802.11 Standards (802.11 through to 802.11be), as well as some assoicated 802.11 standards that you may come across.
| Standard Name | Operating Frequencies | Bandwidth | Year of Approval | Wi-Fi Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 802.11be | 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz | At least 30 Gbps | Expected 2024 | Wi-Fi 7 |
| 802.11ax | 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz (Wi-Fi 6) and 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E) | Up to 9.6 Gbps | 2021 | Wi-Fi 6 / Wi-Fi 6E |
| 802.11ac | 5 GHz | Up to 1300 Mbps | 2013 | Wi-Fi 5 |
| 802.11n | 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz | Up to 600 Mbps | 2009 | Wi-Fi 4 |
| 802.11g | 2.4 GHz | Up to 54 Mbps | 2003 | Wi-Fi 3 (de facto) |
| 802.11a | 5 GHz | Up to 54 Mbps | 1999 | Wi-Fi 2 (de facto) |
| 802.11b | 2.4 GHz | 1 to 11 Mbps | 1999 | Wi-Fi 1 (de facto) |
| 802.11 | 2.4 GHz | 1 to 2 Mbps | 1997 | Wi-Fi (de facto) |
802.11be
As with its predecessor 802.11ax, 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) will operate across the three 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. Expected throughput speeds of at least 30 Gbps are mooted. It is expected that 802.11be will be approved in 2024.
802.11ax
802.11ax makes use of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands (Wi-Fi 6) but also extends wireless networking into the 6 GHz band (Wi-Fi 6E). To achieve the higher data rates of up to 9.6 Gbps, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is utilised along with 1024 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).
It is worth noting that the 6 GHz frequency band is not being adopted in all countries (see reference below).
Wi-Fi Alliance – Wi-Fi 6 / 802.11ac
Countries Enabling Wi-Fi in 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E)
802.11ac
Operating in the 5 GHz band 802.11ac utilises a variety of techniques leveraged in earlier 802.11 standards to achieve Gbps of throughput. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), increased channel bandwidth, 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) and an increased number of data streams all combine to provide the increased throughput.
Wi-Fi Alliance – Wi-Fi 5 / 802.11ac
802.11n
The 802.11n standard operates in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. By utilising Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), multiple antennas and MIMO-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) it is able to maintain multiple data steams to achieve a maximum data rate of up to 600 Mbps.
Wi-Fi Alliance – Wi-Fi 4 / 802.11n
802.11g
802.11g utilises the same Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) method as 802.11a but within the 2.4 GHz band, as a result increasing data rates up to a maximum of 54 Mbps. Although in reality as a result of network control overheads typical data rates were around 50% lower.
802.11a
Working in the 5 GHz band, and by making use of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) the 802.11a standard was able to increase maximum data rates up to 54 Mbps. Although in reality as a result of network control overheads typical data rates were around 50% lower.
802.11b
An enhancement to the original 802.11 standard, 802.11b provided an increase in the maximum data rate up to 11 Mbps whilst operating within the same 2.4 GHz band. Although in reality as a result of network control overheads typical data rates were around 50% lower.
802.11
802.11 was the original wireless networking standard. Operating solely in the 2.4 GHz band it was able to achieve data rates of 1 to 2 Mbps.
Associated 802.11 Standards
As well as the main 802.11 standards detailed above it is highly likely that you’ll come across some of the additional standards
802.11i
The finalised 802.11i standard is implemented within Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) which enhances the original WPA standard by mandating the use of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) / Counter Cipher Mode with Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP), in preference to the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP).
802.11mc
Whilst 802.11mc is more accurately a maintenance/revision group for IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards. From a technical perspective it is commonly used to refer to the Wi-Fi Round Trip Time (RTT) feature, which is designed to allow devices to accurately measure their distance to nearby Wireless Access Points (or other Wi-Fi Aware Wireless peers).
802.11w
802.11w is the wireless standard that details the requirement to make use of Protected Management Frames (PMF). Among others, 802.11w provides protection for disassociation and deauthentication frames providing a level of protection against deauthentication and disassociation attacks.