Essentially, it transmits data through the air at a higher rate, enabling devices to get off the channel faster and leaving air for other devices to transmit and receive. By comparison, 802.11n primarily operates in the congested 2.4 GHz band with its 14 channels, only three of which are used in North America due to interference issues.īecause it operates in the 5 GHz band, 802.11ac more efficiently uses the air space shared by all wireless technologies. The band is divided into 24 non-overlapping channels with each having the potential to be used in a single wireless system. The protocol operates in the 5 GHz band where it enjoys up to 8x more capacity, faster data rates and broader coverage with fewer dead spots. 802.11ac is also powerful enough to cover a broader range and robust enough to handle more devices transmitting data-heavy content, including high definition video and an array of other new use cases for today’s video-obsessed consumers.
In addition, it uses a higher modulation scheme-256 QAM as compared to 802.11n’s 64 QAM-which provides more efficient data transfer and in turn, increased battery life. In addition to its speed, 802.11ac increases reliability, and can achieve up to 4x the bandwidth increase over its predecessor using 160 MHz channels a critical factor in enabling bandwidth-intensive mobile video and voice applications. Wi-Fi has evolved through the years to accommodate demands for faster data rates and greater bandwidth to support more feature-rich content and applications. 802.11ac represents a dramatic leap forward - up to three times faster and up to six times more power efficient than equivalent 802.11n.įigure 2. The 802.11ac protocol, referred to by Broadcom as the fifth-generation of Wi-Fi or 5G WiFi, is essentially the next step in the evolution of Wi-Fi from 802.11n (Figure 2). 802.11ac delivers the bandwidth required for streaming high-quality media such as live television broadcasts and streaming HD video.
That’s where IEEE 802.11ac comes in, promising to deliver extraordinary improvements in speed, reliability and range necessary to meet the demands of more users, more devices and more data (Figure 1).įigure 1. Certainly, the architects of 802.11n could not have anticipated this explosion of mobile data traffic in such a short amount of time.īy eliminating the physical constraints of wired electronic devices, Wi-Fi has spawned a generation of savvy users who now consume digital content at an ever increasing rate. That same year, the fourth generation of Wi-Fi ® technology-802.11n-was introduced as a wireless technology to meet the demand for medium-resolution video such as those found on the then two-year old startup YouTube.įast forward to 2012 when the number of smartphone users worldwide broke the one billion mark, tablet sales grew greater than 78% in a single year and video traffic accounted for more than half of all Internet traffic. In 2007, Apple’s first iPhone hit the shelf.
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