IEEE Standards

The wireless world consists of three standards. The three are 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. Each of these has their pros and con’s. Allow us to being with the first, which is the 802.11a standard.802.11a operates on the 5 GHZ band and has a maximum data rate of 52Mbit/s. As the device or user travels farther from the signal it is common for data rates to be reduced to 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9 and then 6Mbit/s. While the data rate for 802.11a is 54Mbit/s, the signal strength is far from comparable to the 802.11b standard. The problem with 802.11a signals is that they are easily absorbed by walls and other objects that surround the signal.

802.11b operates on the 2.4 GHz band and has a max data throughput of 11Mbit/s. Common interferences for 802.11b consist of microwave ovens, cordless telephones, baby monitors, and Bluetooth devices.

802.11g operates on the same frequency as the 802.11b standard, 2.4 GHz. The difference between the two is that the 802.11g standard has a max throughput of 54Mbit/s compared to the 11Mbit/s of 802.11b. One of the advantages of the “G” networks is that it is fully compatible with 802.11b hardware. Similar to the “B” network, the 802.11g standard suffers the same interferences as 802.11b networks.

802.11n, which is the newest of standards, boasts a max data throughput of 74 Mbit/s. The 802.11n network operates on the 5 GHz and 2.4G GHz frequency. The “N” standard has not been finalized but is expected to be in the fourth quarter of 2008. Although devices already exist with “pre-N” technology, it is thought that the final version will not be much different. To address the changes, a firmware update should correct this.

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