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.

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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.

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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.

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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 Typical Operating MaximumNon

DataRate Throughput Frequency Overlapping
(Mbps) (Mbps) Band Channels
(Americas)
802.11b 11 6.5 2.4GHz 3*1
802.11g 54 8(Mixedb/g) 2.4GHz 3*1
25(Only802.11g)
802.11a 54 25 5GHz 24(20MHzchannels)
12(40MHzchannels)
802.11n 248 74*2 2.4GHz&5GHz *3

*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 FrequencyBand ChannelCenter FCCAmericas ETSI(Europe)
(GHz) Frequency(GHz)
1 2.4012.423 2.412 X X
2 2.4062.428 2.417 X X
3 2.4112.433 2.422 X X
4 2.4162.438 2.427 X X
5 2.4212.443 2.432 X X
6 2.4262.448 2.437 X X
7 2.4312.453 2.442 X X
8 2.4362.458 2.447 X X
9 2.4412.463 2.452 X X
10 2.4462.468 2.457 X X
11 2.4512.473 2.462 X X
12 2.4562.478 2.467 X
13 2.4612.483 2.472 X
14 2.4732.495 2.484

IntheAmericas,withchannels1through11,therearethreenonoverlappingchannels:1,6
and11.

IEEE802.11a/b/g/nWiFiStandardsandFacts Page5



IEEE802.11aChannelAssignments

Channel CenterFrequency Americas ETSI PermittedUse Other

(MHz) (Europe) Location Comments
34 5170
36 5180 X X Indoor
38 5190
40 5200 X X Indoor
42 5210
44 5220 X X Indoor
46 5230
48 5240 X X Indoor
52 5260 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
56 5280 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
60 5300 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
64 5320 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
100 5500 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
104 5520 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
108 5540 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
112 5560 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
116 5580 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
120 5600 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
124 5620 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
128 5640 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
132 5660 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
136 5680 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
140 5700 X X IndoororOutdoor DFSRequired
149 5745 X TypicalOutdoor
153 5765 X TypicalOutdoor
157 5785 X TypicalOutdoor
161 5805 X TypicalOutdoor
165 5825 X TypicalOutdoor
DynamicFrequencySelection(DFS)ismandatoryintheAmericasandtheEuropean(ETSI)
market.AccessPoints(APs)mustconstantlymonitorthefrequencyforradarpresence.IftheAP
detectsradar,itisrequiredtoceasealltransmissionswithintherequiredtimeframeand
dynamicallymovetoanotherchannel.

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