A BRIEF HISTORY & CHRONOLOGY OF WI-FI
A group of Local Area Networking (LAN) standards known as IEEE 802 define and explain communication protocols for wireless and Ethernet-based technologies.
Therefore, 802.11 is a standard that outlines the steps, parameters, rules, and formulas needed to create a Wireless Local Area Network connection — a connection that is now commonly known as Wi-Fi.
The Wi-Fi device foundation is IEEE 802.11. The Wi-Fi Alliance owns the Wi-Fi trademark and employs standardized testing to confirm that all products using the Wi-Fi brand are interoperable.
Wi-Fi standards have evolved since the technology was first introduced in 1997, resulting in enhancements to data transmission speeds, signal coverage areas, and secure, dependable connections.
802.11
Operating at 2.4 GHz, it is the original Wi-Fi standard, first released in 1997. The most extensively used wireless computer networking protocols in the world, Wi-Fi, is based on it, as is the case with all following standards.
It makes use of the two transmission technologies — Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum — with data rates of up to 2 mbps supported by the CSMA/CA protocol (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance). Now, this standard is practically out of date.
Wi-Fi 1 (802.11b)
It was first released in 1999, and like its predecessor, it used the CSMA/CA medium access mechanism. Its maximum theoretical data rate was 11 Mbps. Its widespread adoption as a wireless technology was facilitated by the significant improvement in throughput.
This standard can be subject to signal interference in a residential environment with other wireless devices like cordless phones, microwave ovens, and blue tooth devices because it uses the same frequency spectrum as other wireless protocols.
Wi-Fi 2 (802.11a)
It was also released in 1999. It has a maximum theoretical data throughput of 54 Mbps and operates at 5 GHz using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).
Due to its reduced susceptibility to signal interference, the 5 GHz frequency offered it a substantial advantage over its predecessor, the 2.4 GHz frequency. However, the drawback was that its overall range was shorter, which prevented it from being extensively used. Moreover, 5 GHz equipment were more expensive and did not work with 802.11b.
Wi-Fi 3 (802.11g)
Released in 2003, it uses OFDM and has a maximum theoretical rate of 54 Mbps, just like its predecessor. However, it is more prone to interference because it works at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, which gives it a greater range. It can also connect 802.11b devices to an 802.11g access point because it is backwards compatible with 802.11b
Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n)
Wi-Fi became faster and more dependable with the release of 802.11n in 2009, which used MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output), a technique that increases the capacity of a radio link by utilizing multiple transmit and receive antennas to take advantage of multipath signal transmission.
It works on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, supports a maximum theoretical speed of 600 Mbps, and is backwards compatible with Wi-Fi 3, 2, and 1.
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Introduced in 2013, it was capable of supporting up to 3.5 Gbps of theoretical speed. This was made possible by enhancing the 802.11n ideas, which included beam forming, higher density modulations, MU-MIMO (multi-use MIMO), greater bandwidth, and more.
Wi-Fi 5 only uses the 5 GHz frequency for operation.
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Having been released in 2021, it is the most recent and sixth generation of Wi-Fi (as of Jan 2024). Its key asset is its capacity to function well in environments with dense, widespread Wi-Fi traffic, such as concert halls, stadiums, or even households with a lot of wireless gadgets, where 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies would severely degrade owing to over-interference. Its theoretical data rate is 9.6 Gbps.
Despite operating on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, it accomplishes this through denser modulation, mechanisms to facilitate longer-range outdoor installations, and reduced subcarrier spacing. Additionally, it is backwards compatible with 802.11a/g/n/ac devices.
Wi-Fi 6E is only compatible with devices and apps that can use the 6 GHz frequency range. It is an expansion of Wi-Fi 6.
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
With development still ongoing, Wi-Fi 7 is expected to be deployed in 2024 and potentially reach data rates of up to 40 Gbps, nearly double the bandwidth of Wi-Fi 6.
As a result of all these technological developments, Wi-Fi 7 technology will be significantly faster, have considerably reduced latency, support a lot more devices, and perform much better in busy Wi-Fi settings and when Wi-Fi networks overlap.
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