Explaining WiFi standards

IEEE 802.11 And The Standards Body

Who sets the standards for WiFi? That’s left up to the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). These are the people who sit around and decide things like how many bits are in a byte and the standards for encryption. They’re not going to come to a company’s house and take their lunch money if they don’t comply, but companies participate and go along with that the IEEE standards decides so their things work well together.

From this group, we get the various flavors of WiFi. They’re all called the IEEE 802.11 standard with the letter after the 802.11 numbers. The usual rule is the higher the letter, the faster the speed of the network. Almost all of these function over a range of about 30 meters (150 feet).

Each network can be broken down by a few different settings:

• Speed: How much data the network can transmit between your device and the router, most commonly calculated in Mbps (1 million bits per second) or Gbps (1 billion bits per second) for newer standards. Note that this is the WiFi connection speed, not your internet speed, which will always be lower than your WiFi's maximum capability.
• Frequency: The radio frequency on which the network is broadcast, such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz. Lower frequencies like 2.4 GHz provide better wall penetration and longer range but offer slower speeds and more interference. Higher frequencies like 5 GHz and 6 GHz deliver faster speeds and less congestion but have shorter ranges and struggle more with obstacles like walls and floors.

Here’s a WiFi standards chart of each 802.11 standards type based on its designation:

The second rule is a combination of numbers means the router support different network types. So when networks like 802.11 ac, 801.11 ad, 802.11 abg are listed, it means that each of those types is supported by that router.

What Is Wi-Fi 6?

As you can see, the latest WiFi standard is WiFi 6 (or 802.11 ax). The standard support the already widespread 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, and it also uses the 6 GHz band for increased throughput-per-area in high-density scenarios.

Additional performance gains are unlocked by features such as orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA), higher-order modulation, and Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO), each of which deserves its own in-depth article.

The maximum linkrate of WiFi 6 is between 600 and 9608 Mbps, depending on how many channels are utilized. Considering that the average internet speed in the US is just 42 Mbps, it’s safe to say that WiFi 6 is plenty fast for most people.

As the latest WiFi standard, WiFi 6 also supports the WPA3 security protocol. This protocol replaces the pre-shared key (PSK) exchange with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) exchange to address security issues posed by weak passwords.

This means that it will be easier to have devices join a public WiFi network while still keeping private information private. As more people connect in coffee shops, libraries, churches, and schools, keeping bank connections and other secure communications from prying eyes will be essential.

There are more information leaks and data being sold online, so these enhanced encryption techniques will make it safer to be out on public WiFi systems.

WiFi 6 was adopted in 2019, and there are already many routers on the market that support the standard. Best of all, the same routers are compatible with other current WiFi standards, so they work even with devices that don’t take advantage of WiFi 6.

What is WiFi 7?

WiFi-7 (802.11be) is the newest WiFi standard. Its development started in 2021, and the official certification program kicked off in 2024. As the latest WiFi standard, it pushes wireless technology forward by delivering speeds that can reach up to 46 Gbps under ideal conditions. That’s nearly five times faster than WiFi 6 and comparable to high-speed wired connections.

The WiFi 7 speed improvements can be largely attributed to support for new WiFi technologies, such as 320 MHz channel bandwidth (double that of WiFi 6), 4K-QAM (4096 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) for more efficient data encoding, and Multi-Link Operation (MLO) for the simultaneous connection of individual devices across multiple bands.

But WiFi 7 speed isn’t the only factor that makes the newest WiFi standard better than its predecessors. WiFi 7 also improves reliability through its Multi-Link Operation, which maintains stable connections even if one band experiences interference. On top of that, security is strengthened with mandatory WPA3 support and enhanced encryption protocols to provide better protection against cyber threats while maintaining the convenience of easy device connections.

Note: NetSpot for Windows already supports WiFi 7, so users can install it to analyze and optimize even the latest networks.

New WiFi Standards: Preparing for a WiFi Future

With the new standards coming, what’s the best way to prepare? Things aren’t going to stand still and wait. Already, older devices are finding it harder and harder to connect to a modern WiFi world, like older tablets and portable gaming systems.

To keep compatibility, make sure that routers purchases can support legacy devices and be upgraded in the future. If there’s already a network in place, it’s a good idea to understand how the network works.

WiFi analyzers like NetSpot help visualize how routers work by scanning the WiFi network to gather data on signal strength, channel usage, and network security. These tools provide a detailed map of a network's coverage area, illustrating how signals from routers propagate through a space and how they might overlap or interfere with signals from other nearby routers.

By analyzing the spectrum of WiFi channels, NetSpot can identify channels that are congested with traffic from multiple networks, suggesting alternative, less crowded channels to improve network performance. Additionally, it assesses the security settings of the network, highlighting potential vulnerabilities.