Tuesday, December 16, 2014

802.11ac

My new HTC One (M8) smartphone supports the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi, the first of my devices (some say too many devices) to do so.  So when did "ac" come after "n" (i.e. 802.11n)?  What did I miss?

First things first.  802.11ac will get you about double the network performance of what 802.11n delivers, and as the "Wave 2" products get delivered in 2015 with more channels, spatial streams, etc., even more speed.  As the number of devices in your house or office multiply, or your thirst for 4K video (aka Ultra HD) increases, 802.11ac in your wireless device, and your wireless router, will become attractive.

So what happened to all the letters after "n" and why was "ac" next up?  "o" through "z", "aa" and "ab" are mostly amendments, revisions, different frequencies or not used to avoid confusion with other standards.  And the industry is now up to "ax", currently in early development.

I feel the need.  The need for speed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

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