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Wi-Fi Standards – the Basics

To the uninitiated, the Wi-Fi world can be an extremely confusing jungle of acronyms, abbreviations and other terms. The following should help clarify some of the most common terms thrown about in the realm of Wi-Fi standards.

What are Wi-Fi Standards?

If you’re using Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity technology), then you’re using a WLAN (a Wireless Local Area Network). WLANs use several different types of standards, each of which provide different speeds and ranges for your wireless equipment. Two of the earliest standards were referred to as 802.11b (2.4 GHz) and 802.11a (5 GHz). Ironically, the “b” standard came out earlier than the “a” standard, and it offers higher connection speeds and better ranges for your wireless technology.

Wi-Fi – 802.11b Speed and Range

802.11b devices transmit data on the same frequency as most microwaves and some cordless phones. They provide a bandwidth of 11 Mbps, and are considered sufficient for completing very basic computing tasks such as checking e-mail, Web browsing, and even some basic streaming video and audio. However, the 11 Mbps is a theoretical maximum, and most 802.116 devices never reach more than 4 or 5 Mbps. Wireless equipment that uses the 802.11b technology can be purchased very cheaply in 2005, as newer standards are much faster. A quick look at product Web sites revealed that a 802.11b wireless router can be purchased for around $5.

In terms of range, 802.11b device signals can travel about 492 feet indoors, and about 1,640 feet outdoors. However, in order to use the device at its maximum speed levels, the antenna should be no more than 164 feet away from the device when indoors and 820 feet when outdoors.

Wi-Fi – 802.11a Speed and Range

If you’re interested in transferring large files with graphics, audio or video, or streaming these files, then you’re going to want to look into 802.11a devices. Products using 802.11a are much faster than 802.11b products, and they offer a maximum speed of 54 Mbps (with actual performance levels hovering in the 20 to 25 Mbps levels). In any case, that’s still five times faster than 802.11b performance.

However, there is a tradeoff if you decide to use 802.11a devices--and that is range. Indoors, you have to keep distances at 300 feet and 1200 feet when outdoors. When using the maximum speed, the distances are greatly reduced – 60 feet when indoors and 100 feet when outdoors.

Wi-Fi standards are continually improving, and as of 2005, the faster 802.11g is available with talks of 802.11n to come. Stay tuned!