Whatis802.11?

The802.11standardsareagroupofevolvingspecificationsdefinedbytheInstituteofElectricaland
ElectronicEngineers(IEEE).CommonlyreferredtoasWiFithe802.11standardsdefineathroughthe
airinterfacebetweenawirelessclientandabasestationaccesspointorbetweentwoormorewireless
clients.TherearemanyotherstandardsdefinedbytheIEEE,suchasthe802.3Ethernetstandard.
Whyarestandardsimportant?
Standardsareasetofspecificationsthatallmanufacturersmustfollowinorderfortheirproductstobe
compatible.Thisisimportanttoinsureinteroperabilitybetweendevicesinthemarket.Standardsmay
providesomeoptionalrequirementsthatindividualmanufacturersmayormaynotimplementintheir
products.
802.11b
In1995,theFederalCommunicationsCommissionhadallocatedseveralbandsofwirelessspectrumfor
usewithoutalicense.TheFCCstipulatedthattheuseofspreadspectrumtechnologywouldberequired
inanydevices.In1990,theIEEEbeganexploringastandard.In1997the802.11standardwasratified
andisnowobsolete.TheninJuly1999the802.11bstandardwasratified.The802.11standardprovides
amaximumtheoretical11Megabitspersecond(Mbps)datarateinthe2.4GHzIndustrial,Scientificand
Medical(ISM)band.
802.11g
In2003,theIEEEratifiedthe802.11gstandardwithamaximumtheoreticaldatarateof54megabitsper
second(Mbps)inthe2.4GHzISMband.Assignalstrengthweakensduetoincreaseddistance,
attenuation(signalloss)throughobstaclesorhighnoiseinthefrequencyband,thedatarate
automaticallyadjuststolowerrates (54/48/36/24/12/9/6Mbps)tomaintaintheconnection.
Whenboth802.11band802.11gclientsareconnectedtoan802.11grouter,the802.11gclientswill
havealowerdatarate.Manyroutersprovidetheoptionofallowingmixed802.11b/gclientsorthey
maybesettoeither802.11bor802.11gclientsonly.
Toillustrate54Mbps,ifyouhaveDSLorcablemodemservice,thedatarateofferedtypicallyfallsfrom
768Kbps(lessthan1Mbps)to6Mbps.Thus802.11goffersanattractivedatarateforthemajorityof
users.The802.11gstandardisbackwardscompatiblewiththe802.11bstandard.Today802.11gisstill
themostcommonlydeployedstandard.

IEEE802.11a/b/g/nWiFiStandardsandFacts

Page1

802.11a
Ratificationof802.11atookplacein1999.The802.11astandardusesthe5GHzspectrumandhasa
maximumtheoretical54Mbpsdatarate.Likein802.11g,assignalstrengthweakensduetoincreased
distance,attenuation(signalloss)throughobstaclesorhighnoiseinthefrequencyband,thedatarate
automaticallyadjuststolowerrates (54/48/36/24/12/9/6Mbps)tomaintaintheconnection.The5GHz
spectrumhashigherattenuation(moresignalloss)thanlowerfrequencies,suchas2.4GHzusedin
802.11b/gstandards.Penetratingwallsprovidespoorerperformancethanwith2.4GHz.Productswith
802.11aaretypicallyfoundinlargercorporatenetworksorwithwirelessInternetserviceprovidersin
outdoorbackbonenetworks.
802.11n
InJanuary,2004theIEEE802.11taskgroupinitiatedwork.Therehavebeennumerousdraft
specifications,delaysandlackofagreementamongcommitteemembers.Yes,evenintheprocessof
standardsdevelopment,politicsareinvolved.TheProposedamendmenthasnowbeenpushedbackto
early2010.Itshouldbenotedithasbeendelayedmanytimesalready.Thus802.11nisonlyindraft
status.Therefore,itispossiblethatchangescouldbemadetothespecificationspriortofinal
ratification.
Thegoalof802.11nistosignificantlyincreasethedatathroughputrate.Whilethereareanumberof
technicalchanges,oneimportantchangeistheadditionofmultipleinputmultipleoutput(MIMO)and
spatialmultiplexing.MultipleantennasareusedinMIMO,whichusemultipleradiosandthusmore
electricalpower.
802.11nwilloperateonboth2.4GHz(802.11b/b)and5GHz(802.11a)bands.Thiswillrequire
significantsiteplanningwheninstalling802.11ndevices.The802.11nspecificationsprovideboth20
MHzand40MHzchanneloptionsversus20MHzchannelsin802.11aand802.11b/gstandards.By
bondingtwoadjacent20MHzchannels,802.11ncanprovidedoublethedatarateinutilizationof40
MHzchannels.However,40MHzinthe2.4GHzbandwillresultininterferenceandisnotrecommended
norlikelywhichinhibitsdatathroughputinthe2.4GHzband.Itisrecommendedtouse20MHz
channelsinthe2.4GHzspectrumlike802.11b/gutilizes.Forbestresultsof802.11n,the5GHzspectrum
willbethebestoption.Deploymentof802.11nwilltakesomeplanningeffortinfrequencyandchannel
selection.Some5GHzchannelsmusthavedynamicfrequencyselection(DFS)technologyimplemented
inordertoutilizethoseparticularchannels.
Anotherconsiderationof802.11nisthesignificantlyincreasedelectricalpowerdemandincomparison
tothecurrent802.11b/gor802.11aproducts.Thisisprimarilyduetomultipletransmitters.
TheWiFiAllianceistestingandcertifyingcompatibilityof802.11nradiodraft2.0specifications.There
areseveralrealitiestoconsider.Theyareonlytestingagainstsomebasiccriteriaandinteroperability
points.Alsothenumberofdevicesbeingtestedagainsteachotherislow.Thiscertificationdoesnot
provideanyprotectionagainstchangestothe802.11nstandardpriortoratification.

IEEE802.11a/b/g/nWiFiStandardsandFacts

Page2

VHT
AnIEEEworkinggrouphasbeenworkingoneffortsforthesuccessorto802.11ninthelastoneyear.
ThiseffortisknownasVeryHighThroughput(VHT)andfocusesonchanging802.11tosupport1Gigabit
persecond(Gbps)wirelessLANstandard.
Whichwirelessstandard,802.11b,802.11gor802.11nshouldIbuy?
Today,youwillfindthestoresfullofdraft802.11nproducts.Theestimatesshowthat94%ofthebuyers
oftheseproductsareconsumersorsmallbusinesses,whofranklydontknowaboutstandardsissues.
Themajorityofenterpriseorcorporateusersarenotinvestingintothesedraftproducts.Atissueisboth
thepossibilityoftheseproductsnotbeingcompliantwithanyfinalstandardsandthedesirenotto
sufferpotentialheadachesuntilthetechnologyisfullyready.Interestinglytechnicalwritersfortrade
journalsorthepresstendtopromoteheavily802.11ndespitethefactthatAIR802haspolledits
customersintheUSAandinothercountrieswithover98%reportingthattheyhavenointerestin
802.11nuntilthestandardisratifiedandthetechnologyandproductshavebeenproven.Forreference,
themajorityofAIR802customersaregovernmentagencies;valueaddedresellers,computer
networkingcompanies(installingwirelessproductsinbothresidentialandsmallbusiness
environments),consumersanddistributors.Therefore,itappearsthatmostbuyershavetakenavery
cautiouswaitandseeapproachdespiteoptimisticeditorialarticles.
Forthemajorityofresidentialandsmallandmediumsizebusinessusers,thesinglelargestconcern
amongusersistoprovidethedesiredsignalcoveragefollowedbyreliability.Fortheseuserscurrent
802.11b/gproductswithhighRFpoweroutputwouldprovidethemostdesirableresults.Thecommon
consumerequipmentfoundinretailstoreshavebetween30to65mWofRFoutputpower.However,
withinthesamegeneralpricerange,equipmentwith250mWofRFoutputpowerorhighercanbe
purchased.Incomparisontests,highpower802.11b/groutersprovidesignificantlygreaterdistanceand
coverageandasaresulthigherthroughputthananytypicallowerpowered802.11b/gor802.11ndraft
productinthemarket.Formostusersmoredatathroughputisnotacriticaldecisionfactor.Ifthe
wirelessnetworkisbeingusedforInternetaccessandtheDSLorcablemodemservice,whichistypically
lessthan1Mbpsto6Mbpsdependingontheserviceproviderorplan,thetypical25Mbpsdata
throughputonahighRFpowered802.11b/gdeviceismorethansufficient.Infacttoday,thousandsof
networkssupportingIPvideosurveillancearebeingputintoplacewherestreamingcompressedvideois
carriedover802.11gor802.11anetworks.Therealityisthat802.11b/gequipmentwillbeinusefor
many,manyyears.Today,thebulkofequipmentmanufacturedandsoldtowirelessprofessionalsisstill
802.11b/g.

IEEE802.11a/b/g/nWiFiStandardsandFacts

Page3

Forthosefewwhointhenearfutureabsolutelyneedhigherdatathroughputforaparticular
application,then802.11nmightbeaconsideration.The802.11nstandardhasbeenexpectedtoprovide
datathroughputof100Mbpsorgreater.However,realworldtests,wherebuildingmaterialsand
existenceofotherwirelesssignalsinthefrequencybandhaveresultedindatathroughputratesofas
lowas26Mbps.Thereisalsotheriskoftheproductbeingoutdatedinayearshouldthespecifications
changethroughtheIEEEworkinggroup.Thustheactualperformancejustmightnotbeanybetteror
muchbetterthanahighRFpowered802.11b/gdevice.
Iffrequencyinterferenceandcongestionisasignificantfactor,then802.11ashouldbeconsidered.
However,notallclientcardsincomputers,etc.have802.11acapabilityandthisshouldbeevaluated
carefully.
Insummary,mostconsumersorsmallbusinesseswouldbebetteroffwithoutanydoubtwithanhighRF
powered802.11b/gdevicefortheforeseeablefuture.

Comparisonof802.11LANStandards

Standard

Maximum
DataRate
(Mbps)

Typical
Throughput
(Mbps)

Operating
Frequency
Band

802.11b
802.11g

11
54

2.4GHz
2.4GHz

802.11a

54

6.5
8(Mixedb/g)
25(Only802.11g)
25

5GHz

24(20MHzchannels)
12(40MHzchannels)

802.11n

248

74*2

2.4GHz&5GHz

*3

MaximumNon
Overlapping
Channels
(Americas)
3*1
3*1

*1Channels1,6and11arethethreenonoverlappingchannelsintheAmericas.Eachchannelis20
MHzwide.
*2Actualthroughputwilldependuponvariousfactorssuchasthemanufacturerandmodel,
environmentalfactors,whether20MHzor40MHzchannelsareutilized,ifsecurityisenabledand
whetherallclientsare802.11noramixof802.11a/g/n.
*3For802.11n,inthe2.4GHzband,therearethreenonoverlapping20MHzchannelsorone40MHz
channel.Theuseof40MHzisnotdesirableorpracticalinthe2.4GHzband.However,asingle20MHz
channelcouldbeusedwithlowerthroughput,largelydefeatingthegainofusing802.11n.Inthe5GHz
band,twentyfournonoverlapping20MHzoruptotwelve40MHzchannelsexist.

IEEE802.11a/b/g/nWiFiStandardsandFacts

Page4

IEEE802.11b/gChannelAssignments
Channel
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

FrequencyBand
(GHz)
2.4012.423
2.4062.428
2.4112.433
2.4162.438
2.4212.443
2.4262.448
2.4312.453
2.4362.458
2.4412.463
2.4462.468
2.4512.473
2.4562.478
2.4612.483
2.4732.495

ChannelCenter
Frequency(GHz)
2.412
2.417
2.422
2.427
2.432
2.437
2.442
2.447
2.452
2.457
2.462
2.467
2.472
2.484

FCCAmericas

ETSI(Europe)

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

IntheAmericas,withchannels1through11,therearethreenonoverlappingchannels:1,6
and11.

IEEE802.11a/b/g/nWiFiStandardsandFacts

Page5

IEEE802.11aChannelAssignments

Channel CenterFrequency
(MHz)
34
5170
36

5180

38

5190

40

5200

42

5210

44

5220

46

5230

48

5240

52
56
60
64
100
104
108
112
116
120
124
128
132
136
140
149

5260
5280
5300
5320
5500
5520
5540
5560
5580
5600
5620
5640
5660
5680
5700
5745

153

5765

157

5785

161

5805

165

5825

Americas ETSI
(Europe)

PermittedUse
Location

Other
Comments

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

Indoor

Indoor

Indoor

Indoor

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
IndoororOutdoor
TypicalOutdoor

TypicalOutdoor
TypicalOutdoor
TypicalOutdoor
TypicalOutdoor

DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired
DFSRequired

DynamicFrequencySelection(DFS)ismandatoryintheAmericasandtheEuropean(ETSI)
market.AccessPoints(APs)mustconstantlymonitorthefrequencyforradarpresence.IftheAP
detectsradar,itisrequiredtoceasealltransmissionswithintherequiredtimeframeand
dynamicallymovetoanotherchannel.

IEEE802.11a/b/g/nWiFiStandardsandFacts

Page6