Wi-Fi Standards (802.11)

Wi-Fi is the common name for the IEEE 802.11 family of standards that define the protocols for wireless local area networks (WLANs). These standards have evolved significantly over the years to provide faster speeds, better reliability, and more efficient use of the radio spectrum. The original 802.11 standard from 1997 was slow, offering only 1-2 Mbps. The first widely adopted standards were 802.11b, which operated in the 2.4 GHz band and offered up to 11 Mbps, and 802.11a, which operated in the less crowded 5 GHz band with speeds up to 54 Mbps. Then came 802.11g, which combined the speed of 802.11a with the range of 802.11b by operating at 54 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. A major leap forward was 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4), which introduced MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) technology, using multiple antennas to send and receive more data at once, pushing speeds into the hundreds of Mbps. 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) further improved on this, operating exclusively in the 5 GHz band with wider channels and more advanced MIMO, enabling gigabit speeds. The latest mainstream standard is 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), which focuses not just on peak speed, but on improving overall network performance and efficiency in crowded environments with many devices (like stadiums or dense apartment buildings). It introduces technologies like OFDMA to serve multiple clients simultaneously. Understanding these standards helps in choosing the right equipment and troubleshooting performance issues.