If you are reading this blog, you already know that at Fon we live and breathe WiFi. But where did WiFi came from and how it has evolved over the years?
WiFi, also known as standard 802.11, began in 1997 when the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) introduced the standard system. IEEE is an organization consisting of expert electrical and electronics engineers who create standards for technologies like WiFi in order to ensure interoperability. The number 802 in the standard is the numerical designation of the IEEE subcommittee dealing with WiFi while the 11 means that the standard deals operates on a wireless frequency. Letters are given to amendments which have been approved to give the 802.11 technology either greater speed, increased range, better reliability, or any combination of the three. For a full list of the 802.11 amendments, see here.
The WiFi standard has evolved over the years from its original inception, known as 802.11-1997, through 802.11a,b, g, and n, to the newest iteration known as 802.11ac. The original standard operated on the 2.4GHz frequency but received very little recognition due to its low transfer rate (2Mbps) and the fact that the technology was expensive, not to mention laptops themselves.
The next versions of WiFi (a and b) were released simultaneously in 1999. 802.11a was able to transmit data at greater speeds (54Mbps) because it operated on the 5GHz frequency but suffered a major drawback in that operating on this frequency meant that the signal had trouble passing through walls and a shorter range than 2.4GHz . 802.11b, on the other hand, continued to operate on the 2.4GHz frequency and saw maximum speeds of around 11Mbps, which was comparable to broadband speeds at the time. This meant that users got all the mobility benefits of the frequency while not suffering significant speed reductions and resulted in the widespread adoption of the 802.11b standard.
In 2003 the fourth version of the standard was ratified in order to keep up with the increases in broadband speeds. This new version, 802.11g, integrated aspects of the a standard in order to increase the data rate to 54Mbps while staying on the 2.4GHz frequency.
In 2009 the IEEE approved the 802.11n amendment, which improved upon the g standard by adding MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennae. Essentially, MIMO antennae allow multiple users to connect to a single WiFi source without experiencing significant speed reductions (assuming the number of users is less than or equal to the number of antennae) by assigning each user to a single antenna. 802.11n also allows operation on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies and has a maximum data rate of 150Mbps (per antenna).
Most recently, the IEEE is working to ratify the 802.11ac standard which promises speeds of up to 450Mbps per antenna. This is achieved by operating on the 5GHz frequency while integrating more antennae and using “beamforming” technology to overcome the range limitations. 802.11ac has yet to see widespread adoption even though Apple will be putting the technology into many of its products such as the Airport, Time Capsule and notebooks. For a great breakdown of 802.11ac and its implications, check out this TechRadar article.
WiFi is a constantly evolving technology, with new iterations, such as the WiFi Certified Passpoint program being continuously developed.
