Which is faster, 802.11a or 802.11b, and what is their capacity?

Lisa Phifer, Core Competence

Which is faster, 802.11a or 802.11b, and what is their capacity?
802.11a operates at data rates up to 54 Mbps; 802.11b has a maximum data rate of 11 Mbps. Actual application throughput is typically about half of the data rate due to overhead. For a more detailed comparison of these two WLAN radio standards, read this searchNetworking tip: Choosing Between 802.11a and 802.11b.

This was last published in August 2004

Dig Deeper on Wireless LAN (WLAN)

802.11 protocols Learn about the newest wireless protocol, 802.11n, as well as how to evaluate which protocol is best for your environment. You also get a run-down of the 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g specifications in this guide.

802.11 protocols 802.11 wireless protocols and deployment basics are discussed in this guide.

Can you distinguish between 802.11n and 802.11g? In this response, Mike Puglia describes the difference between 802.11n and 802.11g.

802.11i 802.11i is a standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) that provides improved encryption for networks that use the popular 802.11a and 802.11b (which includes Wi-Fi standards).

802.11g The 802.11g specification is a standard for wireless local area networks WLANs) that offers wireless transmission over relatively short distances at up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps), compared with the 11 Mbps theoretical maximum with the earlier 802.11b standard.

802.11e 802.11e is a proposed enhancement to the 802.11a and 802.11b wireless LAN (WLAN) specifications.

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Which is faster, 802.11a or 802.11b, and what is their capacity?

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SearchUnifiedCommunications

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