Wi-Fi Standards

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Wi‑Fi is defined by the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless networking standards. Each generation improves speed, range, efficiency, and spectrum usage. This guide summarizes each Wi‑Fi standard from 802.11a to Wi‑Fi 7 and provides a technical overview of Wi‑Fi technologies, frequency bands, channel widths, and security.

Wi‑Fi Standards Overview (802.11a – Wi‑Fi 7)

Standard	Frequency	Max Speed	Max Range	Channels (non-overlapping)	Channel Widths	Key Features
802.11a	5.725 GHz – 5.850 (U-NII)	54 Mbps	150 Ft.	23 (12)	20 MHz	OFDM, low interference
802.11b	2.4 GHz (ISM)	11 Mbps	300 Ft.	11 (3)	20 MHz	DSSS, long range
802.11g	2.4 GHz (ISM)	54 Mbps	300 Ft.	11 (3)	20 MHz	OFDM, Backwards-compatibility with 802.11b
802.11n	2.4 GHz (ISM) or 5 GHz (U-NII)	150, 300, or 600 Mbps	1200 Ft.	5.75 GHz—23 (12 or 6); 2.4 GHz—11 (3 or 1)	20/40 MHz	MIMO, channel bonding; Backwards-compatibility with 802.11a/b/g, depending on frequencies supported
802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5)	2.4, 5 GHz	693 Mbps, 1.6 Gbps, 3.5 Gbps, 6.9 Gbps			20/40/80/160 MHz	MU‑MIMO, 256‑QAM; Backwards-compatibility with 802.11a/b/g/n
802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)	2.4, 5, 6 GHz	1.15, 2.3, 4.8, 9.6 Gbps			20–160 MHz	OFDMA, 1024‑QAM, TWT
802.11be (Wi-Fi 7)	2.4, 5, 6 GHz	11.5, 23, 35, 46.1 Gbps			20–320 MHz	MLO, 4096‑QAM

Wi‑Fi Frequency Bands & Channel Widths

Channel Widths

20 MHz — stable, best for crowded areas
40 MHz — faster, but more interference
80 MHz — high throughput (Wi‑Fi 5+)
160 MHz — very high throughput (Wi‑Fi 6/7)
320 MHz — Wi‑Fi 7 only

Frequency	Range	Throughput	Channel Widths	Notes
2.4 GHz	Long	Lowest	20 MHz	Interference‑prone (Bluetooth, microwaves, IoT), Only 3 non‑overlapping channels (1, 6, 11)
5 GHz	Medium	High	20/40/80/160 MHz	Up to 25 channels, all non-overlapping
6 GHz (Wi‑Fi 6E / Wi‑Fi 7)	Shortest	Extremely high	20–320 MHz	Up to 59 channels depending on region

Wi‑Fi Security Standards

Standard	Status	Notes
WEP	Obsolete	Broken encryption
WPA	Legacy	TKIP, insecure
WPA2	Current	AES‑CCMP, widely used
WPA3	Modern	SAE handshake, stronger protection