Generation | IEEE standard |
Adopted | Maximum link rate (Mb/s) |
Radio frequency (GHz) |
---|---|---|---|---|
(Wi-Fi 0*) | 802.11 | 1997 | 1–2 | 2.4 |
(Wi-Fi 1*) | 802.11b | 1999 | 1–11 | 2.4 |
(Wi-Fi 2*) | 802.11a | 1999 | 6–54 | 5 |
(Wi-Fi 3*) | 802.11g | 2003 | 2.4 | |
Wi-Fi 4 | 802.11n | 2009 | 6.5–600 | 2.4, 5 |
Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ac | 2013 | 6.5–6933 | 5[a] |
Wi-Fi 6 | 802.11ax | 2021 | 0.4–9608[1] | 2.4, 5 |
Wi-Fi 6E | 2.4, 5, 6[b] | |||
Wi-Fi 7 | 802.11be | exp. 2024 | 0.4–23,059 | 2.4, 5, 6[2] |
Wi-Fi 8 | 802.11bn | exp. 2028[3] | 100,000[4] | 2.4, 5, 6[5] |
*Wi‑Fi 0, 1, 2, and 3 are named by retroactive inference. They do not exist in the official nomenclature.[6][7][8] |
IEEE 802.11 (legacy mode) – or more correctly IEEE 802.11-1997 or IEEE 802.11-1999 – refer to the original version of the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard released in 1997 and clarified in 1999. Most of the protocols described by this early version are rarely used today.
Description
It specified two raw data rates of 1 and 2 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to be transmitted via infrared (IR) signals or by either frequency hopping or direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) in the Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band at 2.4 GHz. IR remained a part of the standard until IEEE 802.11-2016, but was never implemented.[citation needed]
The original standard also defines carrier sense 0 access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) as the medium access method. A significant percentage of the available raw channel capacity is sacrificed (via the CSMA/CA mechanisms) in order to improve the reliability of data transmissions under diverse and adverse environmental conditions.
IEEE 802.11-1999 also introduced the binary time unit TU defined as 1024 μs.[9]
At least seven different, somewhat-interoperable, commercial products appeared using the original specification, from companies like Alvarion (PRO.11 and BreezeAccess-II), BreezeCom, Digital / Cabletron (RoamAbout), Lucent, Netwave Technologies (AirSurfer Plus and AirSurfer Pro), Symbol Technologies (Spectrum24), and Proxim Wireless (OpenAir and Rangelan2). A weakness of this original specification was that it offered so many choices that interoperability was sometimes challenging to realize. It is really more of a "beta specification" than a rigid specification, initially allowing individual product vendors the flexibility to differentiate their products but with little to no inter-vendor interoperability.
The DSSS version of legacy 802.11 was rapidly supplemented (and popularized) by the 802.11b amendment in 1999, which increased the bit rate to 11 Mbit/s. Widespread adoption of 802.11 networks only occurred after the release of 802.11b which resulted in multiple interoperable products becoming available from multiple vendors. Consequently, comparatively few networks were implemented on the 802.11-1997 standard.[citation needed]
Comparison
Frequency range, or type |
PHY | Protocol | Release date[10] |
Frequency | Bandwidth | Stream data rate[11] |
Max. MIMO streams |
Modulation | Approx. range | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indoor | Outdoor | |||||||||||
(GHz) | (MHz) | (Mbit/s) | ||||||||||
1–7 GHz | DSSS[12], |
802.11-1997 | June 1997 | 2.4 | 22 | 1, 2 | — | DSSS, |
20 m (66 ft) | 100 m (330 ft) | ||
HR/DSSS[12] | 802.11b | September 1999 | 2.4 | 22 | 1, 2, 5.5, 11 | — | CCK, DSSS | 35 m (115 ft) | 140 m (460 ft) | |||
OFDM | 802.11a | September 1999 | 5 | 5, 10, 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20 MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz) |
— | OFDM | 35 m (115 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) | |||
802.11j | November 2004 | 4.9, 5.0 [B][13] |
? | ? | ||||||||
802.11y | November 2008 | 3.7[C] | ? | 5,000 m (16,000 ft)[C] | ||||||||
802.11p | July 2010 | 5.9 | 200 m | 1,000 m (3,300 ft)[14] | ||||||||
802.11bd | December 2022 | 5.9, 60 | 500 m | 1,000 m (3,300 ft) | ||||||||
ERP-OFDM[15] | 802.11g | June 2003 | 2.4 | 38 m (125 ft) | 140 m (460 ft) | |||||||
HT-OFDM[16] | 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) |
October 2009 | 2.4, 5 | 20 | Up to 288.8[D] | 4 | MIMO-OFDM (64-QAM) |
70 m (230 ft) | 250 m (820 ft)[17] | |||
40 | Up to 600[D] | |||||||||||
VHT-OFDM[16] | 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) |
December 2013 | 5 | 20 | Up to 693[D] | 8 | DL MU-MIMO OFDM (256-QAM) |
35 m (115 ft)[18] | ? | |||
40 | Up to 1600[D] | |||||||||||
80 | Up to 3467[D] | |||||||||||
160 | Up to 6933[D] | |||||||||||
HE-OFDMA | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E) |
May 2021 | 2.4, 5, 6 | 20 | Up to 1147[E] | 8 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (1024-QAM) |
30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft)[F] | |||
40 | Up to 2294[E] | |||||||||||
80 | Up to 5.5 Gbit/s[E] | |||||||||||
80+80 | Up to 11.0 Gbit/s[E] | |||||||||||
EHT-OFDMA | 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) |
Sep 2024 (est.) |
2.4, 5, 6 | 80 | Up to 11.5 Gbit/s[E] | 16 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (4096-QAM) |
30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft)[F] | |||
160 (80+80) |
Up to 23 Gbit/s[E] | |||||||||||
240 (160+80) |
Up to 35 Gbit/s[E] | |||||||||||
320 (160+160) |
Up to 46.1 Gbit/s[E] | |||||||||||
UHR | 802.11bn (Wi-Fi 8) |
May 2028 (est.) |
2.4, 5, 6, 42, 60, 71 |
320 | Up to 100000 (100 Gbit/s) |
16 | Multi-link MU-MIMO OFDM (8192-QAM) |
? | ? | |||
WUR[G] | 802.11ba | October 2021 | 2.4, 5 | 4, 20 | 0.0625, 0.25 (62.5 kbit/s, 250 kbit/s) |
— | OOK (multi-carrier OOK) | ? | ? | |||
mmWave (WiGig) |
DMG[19] | 802.11ad | December 2012 | 60 | 2160 (2.16 GHz) |
Up to 8085[20] (8 Gbit/s) |
— | 3.3 m (11 ft)[21] | ? | |||
802.11aj | April 2018 | 60[H] | 1080[22] | Up to 3754 (3.75 Gbit/s) |
— | single carrier, low-power single carrier[A] | ? | ? | ||||
CMMG | 802.11aj | April 2018 | 45[H] | 540, 1080 |
Up to 15015[23] (15 Gbit/s) |
4[24] | OFDM, single carrier | ? | ? | |||
EDMG[25] | 802.11ay | July 2021 | 60 | Up to 8640 (8.64 GHz) |
Up to 303336[26] (303 Gbit/s) |
8 | OFDM, single carrier | 10 m (33 ft) | 100 m (328 ft) | |||
Sub 1 GHz (IoT) | TVHT[27] | 802.11af | February 2014 | 0.054– 0.79 |
6, 7, 8 | Up to 568.9[28] | 4 | MIMO-OFDM | ? | ? | ||
S1G[27] | 802.11ah | May 2017 | 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 |
1–16 | Up to 8.67[29] (@2 MHz) |
4 | ? | ? | ||||
Light (Li-Fi) |
LC (VLC/OWC) |
802.11bb | December 2023 (est.) |
800–1000 nm | 20 | Up to 9.6 Gbit/s | — | O-OFDM | ? | ? | ||
(IrDA) |
802.11-1997 | June 1997 | 850–900 nm | ? | 1, 2 | — | ? | ? | ||||
802.11 Standard rollups | ||||||||||||
802.11-2007 (802.11ma) | March 2007 | 2.4, 5 | Up to 54 | DSSS, OFDM | ||||||||
802.11-2012 (802.11mb) | March 2012 | 2.4, 5 | Up to 150[D] | DSSS, OFDM | ||||||||
802.11-2016 (802.11mc) | December 2016 | 2.4, 5, 60 | Up to 866.7 or 6757[D] | DSSS, OFDM | ||||||||
802.11-2020 (802.11md) | December 2020 | 2.4, 5, 60 | Up to 866.7 or 6757[D] | DSSS, OFDM | ||||||||
802.11me | September 2024 (est.) |
2.4, 5, 6, 60 | Up to 9608 or 303336 | DSSS, OFDM | ||||||||
|
Notes
References
- ^ "MCS table (updated with 80211ax data rates)". semfionetworks.com.
- ^ "Understanding Wi-Fi 4/5/6/6E/7". wiisfi.com.
- ^ Reshef, Ehud; Cordeiro, Carlos (2023). "Future Directions for Wi-Fi 8 and Beyond". IEEE Communications Magazine. 60 (10). IEEE. doi:10.1109/MCOM.003.2200037. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
- ^ "What is Wi-Fi 8?". everythingrf.com. March 25, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Giordano, Lorenzo; Geraci, Giovanni; Carrascosa, Marc; Bellalta, Boris (November 21, 2023). "What Will Wi-Fi 8 Be? A Primer on IEEE 802.11bn Ultra High Reliability". arXiv:2303.10442.
- ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2018-10-03). "Wi-Fi Now Has Version Numbers, and Wi-Fi 6 Comes Out Next Year". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- ^ Phillips, Gavin (18 January 2021). "The Most Common Wi-Fi Standards and Types, Explained". MUO - Make Use Of. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Wi-Fi Generation Numbering". ElectronicsNotes. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Maufer, Thomas (2004). A Field Guide to Wireless LANs: For Administrators and Power Users. Prentice Hall Professional. p. 144. ISBN 9780131014060. 0131014064. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ "Official IEEE 802.11 working group project timelines". January 26, 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
- ^ "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n: Longer-Range, Faster-Throughput, Multimedia-Grade Wi-Fi Networks" (PDF). Wi-Fi Alliance. September 2009.
- ^ a b Banerji, Sourangsu; Chowdhury, Rahul Singha. "On IEEE 802.11: Wireless LAN Technology". arXiv:1307.2661.
- ^ "The complete family of wireless LAN standards: 802.11 a, b, g, j, n" (PDF).
- ^ The Physical Layer of the IEEE 802.11p WAVE Communication Standard: The Specifications and Challenges (PDF). World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science. 2014.
- ^ IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems- Local and Metropolitan Area Networks- Specific Requirements Part Ii: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications. (n.d.). doi:10.1109/ieeestd.2003.94282
- ^ a b "Wi-Fi Capacity Analysis for 802.11ac and 802.11n: Theory & Practice" (PDF).
- ^ Belanger, Phil; Biba, Ken (2007-05-31). "802.11n Delivers Better Range". Wi-Fi Planet. Archived from the original on 2008-11-24.
- ^ "IEEE 802.11ac: What Does it Mean for Test?" (PDF). LitePoint. October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-16.
- ^ "IEEE Standard for Information Technology". IEEE Std 802.11aj-2018. April 2018. doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.2018.8345727.
- ^ "802.11ad - WLAN at 60 GHz: A Technology Introduction" (PDF). Rohde & Schwarz GmbH. November 21, 2013. p. 14.
- ^ "Connect802 - 802.11ac Discussion". www.connect802.com.
- ^ "Understanding IEEE 802.11ad Physical Layer and Measurement Challenges" (PDF).
- ^ "802.11aj Press Release".
- ^ "An Overview of China Millimeter-Wave Multiple Gigabit Wireless Local Area Network System". IEICE Transactions on Communications. E101.B (2): 262–276. 2018. doi:10.1587/transcom.2017ISI0004.
- ^ "IEEE 802.11ay: 1st real standard for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) via mmWave – Technology Blog". techblog.comsoc.org.
- ^ "P802.11 Wireless LANs". IEEE. pp. 2, 3. Archived from the original on 2017-12-06. Retrieved Dec 6, 2017.
- ^ a b "802.11 Alternate PHYs A whitepaper by Ayman Mukaddam" (PDF).
- ^ "TGaf PHY proposal". IEEE P802.11. 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
- ^ "IEEE 802.11ah: A Long Range 802.11 WLAN at Sub 1 GHz" (PDF). Journal of ICT Standardization. 1 (1): 83–108. July 2013. doi:10.13052/jicts2245-800X.115.
Further reading
- IEEE 802.11 Working Group (1997-11-18). IEEE Standard for Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications. doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.1997.85951. ISBN 1-55937-935-9.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - IEEE 802.11 Working Group (1999-07-15). IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems- Local and Metropolitan Area Networks- Specific Requirements- Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications. doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.2003.95617. ISBN 0-7381-1857-5.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)