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

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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

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