802.11a through z: the latest wireless networking technology

Introduction

If you are currently shopping for components for a wireless network, they are probably all compatible with the IEEE 802.11g standard, which is the successor to 802.11a and 802.11b. A new version is forthcoming, codenamed 802.11n, of which the first products based on a draft version of this standard are already available. Next to this 802.11e, 802.11i, 802.11r and 802.11s are set to make wireless networking faster, more flexible and safer. Hardware.Info took a dive into the world of 802.11a through z!

When people started developing wireless networking in the last century, the first common standard was recorded by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in a document codenamed 802.11. During recent years, many expansions of the WLAN standard have seen the light of day. Wireless networks first became genuinely popular thanks to 802.11a and 802.11b. The former uses the 5 GHz band and offers a maximum bandwidth of 54 Mbit/s. Because the 5 GHz band is unavailable in many countries, including most of Europe, 802.11b was released almost simultaneously. This particular revision requires WLAN networks to use the 2.4 GHz band and have a maximum bandwidth of 11 Mbit/s. Although 11 Mbit/s is sufficient for the wireless use of an ADSL or cable internet connection, there was a call for faster wireless connections in the non-5 GHz countries. This explains the immediate development of the 802.11g standard, which offers a bandwidth of 54 Mbit/s within the 2.4 GHz band. 802.11g was officially accepted by the IEEE in 2003, but already before certification many manufacturers offered WLAN products that were compatible with the draft versions of the 802.11g standard. Because of this, the new wireless technology was very successful even before the standard had become official.

802.11g offers enough potential for the current user requirements, but the standard is definitely up for improvement. New applications require faster and more flexible wireless networks. A successor to 802.11g has been in development for quite some time, but apart from this one, there are plenty of other initiatives to improve wireless networks.