Wi-Fi generationsvte
Gen.IEEE standardAdopt.Link rate (Mbit/s)RF (GHz)
2.456
Wi‑Fi 1802.1119971–2
Wi‑Fi 2802.11b19991–11
Wi‑Fi 2G802.11a6–54
Wi‑Fi 3802.11g2003
Wi‑Fi 4802.11n20096.5–600
Wi‑Fi 5802.11ac20136.5–6,933
Wi‑Fi 6802.11ax20210.4–9,608
Wi‑Fi 6E
Wi‑Fi 7802.11be20240.4–23,059
Wi‑Fi 8802.11bnTBA

IEEE 802.11 (legacy mode) – or more correctly IEEE 802.11-1997 or IEEE 802.11-1999 – refers to the original version of the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard released in 1997 and clarified in 1999. Most of the protocols described by this early version are rarely used today.

Description

It specified two raw data rates of 1 and 2 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to be transmitted via infrared (IR) signals or by either frequency hopping or direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) in the Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band at 2.4 GHz. IR remained a part of the standard until IEEE 802.11-2016, but was never implemented.[citation needed]

The original standard also defines carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) as the medium access method. A significant percentage of the available raw channel capacity is sacrificed (via the CSMA/CA mechanisms) in order to improve the reliability of data transmissions under diverse and adverse environmental conditions.

IEEE 802.11-1999 also introduced the binary time unit TU defined as 1024 μs.

At least seven different, somewhat-interoperable, commercial products appeared using the original specification, from companies like Alvarion (PRO.11 and BreezeAccess-II), BreezeCom, Digital / Cabletron (RoamAbout), Lucent, Netwave Technologies (AirSurfer Plus and AirSurfer Pro), Symbol Technologies (Spectrum24), and Proxim Wireless (OpenAir and Rangelan2). A weakness of this original specification was that it offered so many choices that interoperability was sometimes challenging to realize. It is really more of a "beta specification" than a rigid specification, initially allowing individual product vendors the flexibility to differentiate their products but with little to no inter-vendor interoperability.

The DSSS version of legacy 802.11 was rapidly supplemented (and popularized) by the 802.11b amendment in 1999, which increased the bit rate to 11 Mbit/s. Widespread adoption of 802.11 networks only occurred after the release of 802.11b which resulted in multiple interoperable products becoming available from multiple vendors. Consequently, comparatively few networks were implemented on the 802.11-1997 standard.[citation needed]

Comparison

vte802.11 network standards
Frequency range, or typePHYProtocolRelease dateFreq­uency bandChannel widthStream data rateMax. MIMO streamsModulationApprox. range
In­doorOut­door
(GHz)(MHz)(Mbit/s)
1–7GHzDSSS, FHSS802.11-1997June 19972.4221, 2—N/aDSSS, FHSS20 m (66 ft)100 m (330 ft)
HR/DSSS802.11bSeptember 19992.4221, 2, 5.5, 11—N/aCCK, DSSS35 m (115 ft)140 m (460 ft)
OFDM802.11aSeptember 199955, 10, 206, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5MHz)—N/aOFDM35 m (115 ft)120 m (390 ft)
802.11jNovember 20044.9, 5.0??
802.11yNovember 20083.7?5,000 m (16,000 ft)
802.11pJuly 20105.91,000 m (3,300 ft)
802.11bdDecember 20225.9, 601,000 m (3,300 ft)
ERP-OFDM802.11gJune 20032.438 m (125 ft)140 m (460 ft)
HT-OFDM802.11n (Wi-Fi 4)October 20092.4, 520Up to 288.84MIMO-OFDM (64-QAM)70 m (230 ft)250 m (820 ft)
40Up to 600
VHT-OFDM802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5)December 2013520Up to 6938DL MU-MIMO OFDM (256-QAM)35 m (115 ft)?
40Up to 1,600
80Up to 3,467
160Up to 6,933
HE-OFDMA802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E)May 20212.4, 5, 620Up to 1,1478UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (1024-QAM)30 m (98 ft)120 m (390 ft)
40Up to 2,294
80Up to 5,500
80+80Up to 11,000
EHT-OFDMA802.11be (Wi-Fi 7)Sep 20242.4, 5, 680Up to 5,7648UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (4096-QAM)30 m (98 ft)120 m (390 ft)
160 (80+80)Up to 11,500
240 (160+80)Up to 14,282
320 (160+160)Up to 23,059
UHR802.11bn (Wi-Fi 8)May 2028 ()2.4, 5, 6320Up to 23,0598Multi-link MU-MIMO OFDM (4096-QAM)??
WUR802.11baOctober 20212.4, 54, 200.0625, 0.25 (62.5kbit/s, 250kbit/s)—N/aOOK (multi-carrier OOK)??
mmWave (WiGig)DMG802.11adDecember 2012602,160 (2.16GHz)Up to 8,085 (8Gbit/s)—N/aOFDM, singlecarrier, low-power single carrier3.3 m (11 ft)?
802.11ajApril 2018601,080Up to 3,754 (3.75Gbit/s)—N/asinglecarrier, low-power single carrier??
CMMG802.11ajApril 201845540, 1,080Up to 15,015 (15Gbit/s)4OFDM, singlecarrier??
EDMG802.11ayJuly 202160Up to 8,640 (8.64GHz)Up to 303,336 (303Gbit/s)8OFDM, singlecarrier10m (33ft)100m (328ft)
Sub 1 GHz (IoT)TVHT802.11afFebruary 20140.054– 0.796, 7, 8Up to 568.94MIMO-OFDM??
S1G802.11ahMay 20170.7, 0.8, 0.91–16Up to 8.67 (@2MHz)4??
Light (Li-Fi)LC (VLC/OWC)802.11bbNovember 2023800–1000 nm20Up to 9.6Gbit/s—N/aO-OFDM??
IR (IrDA)802.11-1997June 1997850–900 nm?1, 2—N/aPPM??
802.11 Standard rollups
802.11-2007 (802.11ma)March 20072.4, 5Up to 54DSSS, OFDM
802.11-2012 (802.11mb)March 20122.4, 5Up to 150DSSS, OFDM
802.11-2016 (802.11mc)December 20162.4, 5, 60Up to 866.7 or 6,757DSSS, OFDM
802.11-2020 (802.11md)December 20202.4, 5, 60Up to 866.7 or 6,757DSSS, OFDM
802.11-2024 (802.11me)September 20242.4, 5, 6, 60Up to 9,608 or 303,336DSSS, OFDM

Notes

Further reading

  • IEEE 802.11 Working Group (1997-11-18). IEEE Standard for Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications. doi:. ISBN 1-55937-935-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • IEEE 802.11 Working Group (1999-07-15). IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems- Local and Metropolitan Area Networks- Specific Requirements- Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications. doi:. ISBN 0-7381-1857-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)