Reference
WiFi Standards
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be — speeds, frequencies, features
| Gen | Standard | Year | Frequency | Max Speed | Channel | Modulation | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 802.11b | 1999 | 2.4 GHz | 11 Mbps | 22 MHz | DSSS | First widely adopted |
| — | 802.11a | 1999 | 5 GHz | 54 Mbps | 20 MHz | OFDM | Less interference, shorter range |
| — | 802.11g | 2003 | 2.4 GHz | 54 Mbps | 20 MHz | OFDM | Backward compat. with b |
| Wi-Fi 4 | 802.11n | 2009 | 2.4/5 GHz | 600 Mbps | 20/40 MHz | OFDM | MIMO (up to 4 streams) |
| Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ac | 2013 | 5 GHz | 3.5 Gbps | 20–160 MHz | OFDM | MU-MIMO, 256-QAM, beamforming |
| Wi-Fi 6 | 802.11ax | 2020 | 2.4/5 GHz | 9.6 Gbps | 20–160 MHz | OFDMA | BSS Coloring, TWT, WPA3 |
| Wi-Fi 6E | 802.11ax | 2021 | 2.4/5/6 GHz | 9.6 Gbps | 20–160 MHz | OFDMA | 6 GHz band (1200 MHz new spectrum) |
| Wi-Fi 7 | 802.11be | 2024 | 2.4/5/6 GHz | ~46 Gbps | Up to 320 MHz | OFDMA | MLO, 4096-QAM, 16 streams |
2.4 GHz: 3 non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11), better range, more interference.
5 GHz: 25 non-overlapping channels, faster, shorter range. 6 GHz:
Wi-Fi 6E/7 only, 59 channels, least congestion.