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What are the different 802.11 standards?
IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to govern wireless local area networking (WLAN). These standards enable connectivity in various environments, from homes and businesses to industrial settings. Since 1997, these standards have evolved to meet diverse wireless communication needs.
The IEEE 802.11 standards facilitate wireless connectivity by enabling devices to exchange data and access network resources without requiring physical cables. They aim to improve communication efficiency by providing guidelines for optimizing data rates, reliability, security, and spectrum utilization. This helps in delivering better performance and a more robust wireless network experience. There are a number of standards under the 802.11 umbrella, the most common being Wi-Fi. We have listed all the 802.11 standards published by IEEE in the table below.
IEEE 802.11 Standards
IEEE Standard
Year of Release
Frequency Band(s) Supported
Typical Applications
802.11a
1999
5 GHz
High-speed wireless LAN
802.11b
2.4 GHz
Wireless LAN with a longer range
802.11g
2003
High-speed wireless LAN with backward compatibility
802.11j
2004
-
Extension for Japan
802.11n (Wi-Fi 4)
2009
2.4 GHz, 5 GHz
High-throughput wireless LAN
802.11p
2010
5.9 GHz
Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE)
802.11r
2008
BSS Fast Transition
802.11s
2011
Mesh networking for WLANs
802.11v
Wireless network management
802.11y
3.65 GHz
802.11aa
2012
Audio Video (AV) Streaming
802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5)
2013
Gigabit wireless LAN
802.11ad (WiGig)
60 GHz
Very high-speed wireless LAN over short distances
802.11af
2014
TV White Space (TVWS)
Wireless broadband access
802.11ah (Wi-Fi HaLow)
2017
Sub-1 GHz
Extended-range wireless LAN (HaLow)
802.11ai
Fast initial link setup techniques
802.11aj
45 GHz
Extension for China
802.11aq
2018
Network configuration and management
802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6/6E)
2019
2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz
High-efficiency wireless LAN (Wi-Fi 6)
802.11ay
2021
High throughput and longer ranges (60 GHz)
802.11az
2023
Power management and energy efficiency
802.11ba
Enhanced device management, security, and privacy
802.11bb
Li-Fi Communications
802.11bd
V2X Communications
802.11be (Wi-Fi 7)
2024
Enhanced performance in dense scenarios
802.11bf
2024 (Expected)
WLAN optimization in dynamic environments
Click here for more details on Wi-Fi standards.
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