802.11 is a set of specifications created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for implementing wireless local area network connections. When you see 802.11a or 802.11n, there is meaning behind each of these subsections. Without being long-winded, here’s a brief overview of each:
802.11a – Operates in the 5 GHz band, Speeds up to 54 Mbps, poor range.
802.11b – Operates in the 2.4 GHz band, Speeds up to 11 Mbps, good range.
802.11g – Operates in the 2.4 GHz band, Speeds up to 54 Mbps, fair range, backwards compatible with 802.11b. When you can no longer pick up the 802.11g signal, you could pick up 802.11b.
802.11n – Operates in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band, Speeds anywhere from 54 Mbps up to 600 Mbps, good range, uses MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) which helps increase the range by using multiple antennas in a coordinated fashion.
802.11ac – Operates in the 5 GHz range using wider channels, speeds up to 1300 Mbps, uses MU-MIMO (multi-user MIMO), which builds on MIMO by using more antennas to boost the wireless signal, improved performance for multiple devices, good range.
802.11ad – Operates in the 60 GHz band, Speeds up to 7 Gbps (7,000 Mbps), good range. This is the newest standard, and currently there are very limited products developed which incorporate 802.11ad.
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