The IEEE802.11 Standard and Its Protocols

It was in 1997 when the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) created the standard for
wireless local area networks (WLANs).

The standard became known as IEEE802.11, with the 802.11
coming from the name of the group who oversaw its
development. Under this standard are several protocols
developed over the years.

Below is a list of them.

1. 802.11

- also known as the Legacy protocol, this is the original
protocol created in 1997. It operates at 2.4 GHz and has a
data rate of 1 and 2 Mbit/s. Its range was limited to 20 m
and 100 m, in indoor and outdoor settings, respectively.

2. 802.11a

- was released in 1999. It operates at 5 GHz to move away
from the 2.4 GHz operating frequency of the Legacy. Its
range only offers a slight improvement from its predecessor
with a range of 35 m indoors and 120 m outdoors. It is,
however, fast with a data rate of 54 Mbit/s.

3. 802.11b

- also released in 1999. Just like the Legacy, it operates
at 2.4 GHz. It has a slightly greater range than the
802.11a, but is slower. The b only has a data rate of 11
Mbit/s.

4. 802.11g

- marries the characteristics of the a and the b. It has a
data rate of 54 Mbit/s like a and has the same range as the
b with 38 m indoors and 140 m outdoors. It was released in
2003.

5. 802.11n

- is set to be released on June 2009. It can operate on
either 2.4 or 5 GHz frequencies. It is fast with a data
rate of 248 Mbit/s and has an indoor range of 70 m and up
to 250 m outdoors.