Wireless LAN Standards (802.11a/b/g) Comparison
| Name |
802.11a
(Wireless A) |
802.11b
(Wireless B) |
802.11g
(Wireless
G) |
|
Year of standard approval by the IEEE |
1999 |
1999 |
2003 |
|
Operating Frequency |
UNII band :
5.15 - 5.35 GHz
5.425 - 5.675 GHz
5.725 - 5.875 GHz
|
ISM band :
2.4 - 2.497 GHz |
ISM band :
2.4 - 2.497 GHz |
|
Physical Layer |
OFDM |
DSSS (CCK) |
OFDM and CCK |
|
Supported data rates |
6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps |
1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps (CCK) |
1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps (CCK)
6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps (OFDM) |
|
Theoretical Maximum Speed |
54
Mbps |
11 Mbps |
54 Mbps |
|
Real speed |
15 - 20 Mbps |
4 - 6 Mbps |
15 -
20 Mbps |
|
Indoor coverage |
50 -
75 feet |
100 -
150 feet |
100 -
150 feet |
|
Compatible with |
- |
802.11g |
802.11b |
|
Best Use |
When
user density is high |
Home
SOHO |
Home
SOHO |
Notes:
- IEEE: Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers
- UNII (or U-NII): Unlicensed National
Information Infrastructure
- ISM: Industrial, Scientific, and
Medical
- OFDM : Orthogonal Frequency
Division Multiplexing
- DSSS: Direct Sequence Spread
Spectrum
- CCK: Complementary Code Keying (modulation)
- SOHO: Small Office Home Office
|
