Wireless Internet technology (WiFi) has gone through several stages of development, from the initial concept to today's high-speed wireless connection. The following is the main process of WiFi technology development:
Early phase (1990s):
1991: One of the first wireless networking standards, the IEEE 802.11 standard, begins development but has not yet become practical at this stage.
1997: The IEEE 802.11 standard was officially released for the first time, providing the most basic wireless connection functions.
802.11b era (early 2000s):
1999: The IEEE 802.11b standard was released, supporting a data transmission rate of up to 11 Mbps, triggering the popularity of wireless networks.
Early 2000s: Commercial wireless routers and network cards become popular and are commonly used in homes and offices.
802.11a/g era (mid term):
2003: The IEEE 802.11g standard was released, supporting a data transmission rate of up to 54 Mbps and compatible with 802.11b devices.
2003: The IEEE 802.11a standard also exists, offering similar rates but operating in the 5 GHz band, avoiding interference issues.
802.11n era (later stage):
2009: The IEEE 802.11n standard was released, introducing MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology to provide higher data transmission rates and coverage, up to 300 Mbps or higher.
802.11ac era (early to mid 2010s):
2013: The IEEE 802.11ac standard was released, using more advanced MIMO and larger channel width to provide a data transmission rate of up to 1 Gbps or more.
802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) era (mid to late 2010s):
2019: The IEEE 802.11ax standard, dubbed Wi-Fi 6, is released, introducing more efficient multi-user technology that provides better performance and capacity management to accommodate the growing number of connected devices.
802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) and future development:
Expected late 2022 to mid-2020s: The IEEE 802.11be standard is expected to be released, known as Wi-Fi 7, which will further improve data transmission rates, stability, and multi-user capabilities to meet the growing demand for wireless connectivity.
Different WiFi standards have differences in data transmission rate, frequency band, coverage, multi-user capability, etc. Here are the differences between each of the major WiFi standards:
802.11b vs 802.11a/g:
802.11b: One of the earliest WiFi standards, supporting the 2.4 GHz frequency band with a maximum transmission rate of 11 Mbps.
Frequency Band: 2.4GHz
Technical features: One of the earliest WiFi standards, with a maximum transfer rate of 11 Mbps.
The maximum transfer rate is 11 Mbps.
802.11a/g: 802.11a works in the 5 GHz frequency band, and the maximum transmission rate can reach 54 Mbps, but due to different frequency bands, its coverage is relatively small. 802.11g supports the 2.4 GHz band, is compatible with 802.11b devices, and provides similar transmission rates.
Frequency bands: 802.11a at 5 GHz, 802.11g at 2.4 GHz
Technical features: 802.11a and 802.11g standards work in different frequency bands respectively, providing a maximum transmission rate of 54 Mbps, and 802.11g is compatible with 802.11b devices at the same time.
The maximum transfer rate is 54 Mbps.
802.11n vs 802.11ac:
802.11n: Introduces MIMO technology to support higher data transmission rates and coverage, up to 300 Mbps or higher, operating in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.
Frequency bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Technical Features: MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology is introduced to provide higher data transmission rate and coverage, up to 300 Mbps or higher.
The maximum transfer rate can be 300 Mbps or higher, depending on the MIMO configuration.
There are many chips represented by 802.11n. At present, the most commonly used one is QCA9531, but there are relatively few items used at present. Customers who pursue low prices will consider using it, and it is gradually withdrawing from the market.
802.11ac: Provides larger channel width and higher MIMO level, the maximum transmission rate can exceed 1 Gbps, mainly works in the 5 GHz frequency band, and can provide better performance and stability.
Frequency band: Mainly at 5 GHz
Technical features: Provide larger channel width and higher MIMO level, the maximum transmission rate can exceed 1 Gbps, and provide better performance and stability.
Maximum transfer rates typically exceed 1 Gbps, depending on channel width and MIMO configuration.
The representative chips of 802.11ac motherboards are mainly IPQ4019 and IPQ4029. The two chips are mainly the CPU of the motherboard, and the design is usually 2.4G&5G; while there are many representative chips of WiFi moudle, the most commonly used ones are QCA9880 and QCA9882, followed by MTK chips. MT7915+MT7915. However, the frequency bands designed by different manufacturers are different. If there are special needs, products can be customized.
802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) vs 802.11ac:
802.11ax: Introduces more advanced multi-user technology, provides higher overall network throughput, and better manages simultaneous connections of multiple devices. This is very important in high density environments such as stadiums or airports. Meanwhile, 802.11ax has improvements on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
802.11ac: While 802.11ac can be very fast on a single device, it can suffer from congestion in high-density device connections.
Frequency bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Technical features: Introduce more advanced multi-user technology, provide higher overall network throughput, better manage the simultaneous connection of multiple devices, and adapt to high-density environments.
The highest transmission rate is also above 1 Gbps, but more importantly, Wi-Fi 6 introduces more efficient multi-user technology to provide better overall network throughput.
802.11ax is currently the most used industrial project. There are many chips to choose from, such as Qualcomm’s IPQ5018, IPQ6010, IPQ8072, and IPQ8074. But if you want the most cost-effective choice, of course it is IPQ5018. The most expensive and the best performance is IPQ8074, but in line with high-demand and high-budget project applications. Generally speaking, IPQ5018 and IPQ6010 are enough for the project. Of course, the most commonly used solution is motherboard + WiFi card. There are also many chips for 802.11ax cards, such as QCN9074, QCN9024, QCN6024, etc., and support frequency bands designed by different manufacturers. It is also different. There are three types of WiFi6 cards designed by Wallys for different customer project needs, single-band, dual-band, and triple-band. The supported frequency bands are 2.4G&5G&6G&6E.
802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) vs 802.11ax:
802.11be: wifi7 will further increase the data transmission rate, improve multi-user performance, enhance network security, and better adapt to various environments. This will make wireless networks more reliable and efficient in more application scenarios.
Frequency band: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and 6Ghz band work
Technical features: Wi-Fi 7 introduces several multilink options that can significantly increase throughput and reduce latency. The most powerful multilink alternative is High Band Simultaneous Multilink, which uses two (5 or 6 GHz) Wi-Fi radios running simultaneously
The WiFi 7 transmission rate can reach a stable 5Gbps.
WiFi7 is still relatively rare in the market at present, many communication companies are developing and designing, and it is expected to be launched in 2024, but the main board chips used are mainly Qualcomm, such as IPQ9574, IPQ9554, etc. The chips used in WiFi7 cards are mainly QCN9274, QCN6274.
In the near future, there will be more and more WiFi technologies, and it will develop to WiFi8, WiFi9, which is also the trend of the times.
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发表于 2023-8-30 09:50:45
