THE Wi-Fi EVOLUTION
Wi-Fi has come a long way since the late 1990s. The first
and second generations of Wi-Fi (802.11b and 802.11a)
were game changers when they were released; they untethered
computers from the wired Ethernet connections that
were a standard of the time.
The third and fourth generations of Wi-Fi, also known
as 802.11g and 802.11n, upped the ante with new features
for the 2.4 GHz band, as well as faster speeds respectively.
With more wireless devices in the 2000s, such as smartphones,
tablets, set-tops, and gaming consoles, these generations
ushered in the mainstream adoption of Wi-Fi.
In fact, the uptick in traffic on the common 2.4 GHz
Wi-Fi band already had consumers and their devices
looking toward the faster and less congested 5 GHz
band for reprieve.
In 2014, 5 GHz Wi-Fi got a big upgrade with Wi-Fi 5
(also known as 802.11ac). This fifth generation of Wi-Fi
finally brought the 5 GHz band of Wi-Fi into the realm
of gigabit speeds (Figure 1).
In 2019, Wi-Fi 6 (or 802.11ax) went even further
by increasing general performance on both 2.4 GHz
and 5 GHz bands. It also laid the groundwork for the
next generation of Wi-Fi that would leverage the FCC’s
release of new spectrum to compose a new 6 GHz band.
EVOLUTION OF STANDARDS
2/11/54 Mb/s
54 Mb/s
600 Mb/s
6.8 Gb/s
2.4 Kb/s
1G
1980s
9.6-100 Kb/s
2G
1990s
2-42 Mb/s
3G
2000s
0.1-1 Gb/s
4G
2010s
FIGURE 1: Evolution of Wi-Fi and 5G standards. (Image: ©2020 CommScope. All rights reserved.)
8 I ICT TODAY
802.11
b, a
1997-1999
802.11
g
2003
802.11
n
2009
802.11
ac
2014
10 Gb/s
802.11
ax
2019
10 Gb/s
802.11
ax6E
2020s
802.11ay uses the 60 GHz spectrum to provide 20-40 Gb/s throughput. Wi-Fi 6E opens up an additional
1.2 GHz for unlicensed use in US and 455 MHz in EU.
2-20 Gb/s
5G
2020s
Al rates are peak PHY rates at maximum configuration. Actual data rates generally 50-75% of peak PHY rates. For example, TCP throughput
is 70%, 60%, and 50% of PHY rate for 11ac, 11n, and 11a/b/g, respectively.