New 802.11ac WiFi standard coming later this year

[Shawn Knight]

A new Wi-Fi standard that is being co-defined by Broadcom and Qualcomm Atheros is preparing to take wireless speeds to the next level. 802.11ac will replace the existing 802.11n standard as the next step in mainstream wireless networking by the end of this year or early 2013, as reported by PC World.

502.11ac will operate strictly on the 5GHz band, whereas –n functions on either 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequency bands. 2.4GHz offers better range but there are a multitude of devices already on that frequency that can cause interference including things like microwaves and Bluetooth headsets.

To contend with the shorter range of the 5GHz band, developers are making beam-forming technology mandatory in the new standard. This technology allows transmitters and receivers to develop an awareness to each other so beams can be focused directly toward each device.

Furthermore, 5GHz have more available channels to work with while each channel is 80MHz wide instead of the 40MHz channels on 802.11n. There will also be a modulation scheme that will multiply the amount of data per carrier signal by a factor of four. On paper, this equates to a maximum bandwidth of 433 mbps per spatial stream versus only 150 mbps on –n. The number of possible simultaneous spatial streams is also being increased from three to eight.

Early devices will be limited to only two or three send and receive antennas, meaning bandwidth of 866 mbps or 1.3 gbps in theory. Real-world performance will likely be a third to a half as fast, which will still be much faster than today’s standard.

Routers and devices using the new technology should be available in time for the holiday buying season while the 802.11ac certification program will kick off in early 2013.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/48122-new-80211ac-wifi-standard-coming-later-this-year.html

 

[hahahanoobs]

I love technology!

 

[Raswan]

Cool. Can't wait.

 

[Guest]

Useless.... What's the point of going to speeds over N when 90% of Americans haven't even hit the max of G. Also don't understand why they're wasting their time with 5ghz when isn't wireless all about range?

 

[Sunny87]

Guest said:
Useless.... What's the point of going to speeds over N when 90% of Americans haven't even hit the max of G. Also don't understand why they're wasting their time with 5ghz when isn't wireless all about range?

It's more for people whom want to transfer data across a WiFi network, to be honest I don't know why you would I don't have slow down issues as there has been a solution for this for years, it's called 10/100/1000 network cards!

I don't like the fact that it's limited to only the 5 GHz frequency I can see issues occurring with devices!

 

[miluthui]

"502.11ac will operate strictly on the 5GHz band"

should it be "802.11ac will operate strictly on the 5GHz band" ?

 

[tengeta]

i have yet to even bother going to the n band. the only wireless devices in my house are those that do basic web surfing, and even 802.11b can handle nearly everyone's internet bandwidth. every server and machine that transfers large amounts of data as well as my gaming tower is wired and its never going to change. its just a smarter option and you only have to waste one weekend drilling walls and placing cables, its well worth the trouble.

 

[Rick]

Guest said:
Useless.... What's the point of going to speeds over N when 90% of Americans haven't even hit the max of G.

Wireless is more than just Internet access -- it's how devices talk to each other, data is transferred from computer to another etc.. While most people don't have much use for a speedy LAN, there are increasing applications for it with media servers and NAS backup solutions gaining popularity.

Guest said:
Also don't understand why they're wasting their time with 5ghz when isn't wireless all about range?

Well, hitting 1Gbps using only 2.4Ghz may simply not be practical. There are practical, physical limitations. A higher frequency means, at least theoretically, more bandwidth.

Additionally, interference is a *severe* issue in crowded areas like apartment complexes. Moving to 5GHz will offer at least another possible solution for those people. Bluetooth, for example, interferes with wifi causing some pretty serious usability/performance issues if you and a couple of your neighbors are simultaneously chewing up 2.4GHz spectrum.

Anecdotally, I have a channel-hopping Logitech G7 wireless mouse which skips and lags along (virtually unusable) if I try to transfer a file over my network through 2.4GHz. This happens with all other wireless mice too. In my situation, there are many wireless APs nearby, including my own and virtually all wireless mice operate on the same frequency as wifi. The only solution is to go wired or change the spectrum and in a wireless world, we need options.

 

[Guest]

A higher frequency means, at least theoretically, more bandwidth.

Actually, it doesn't. A wider channel means more bandwidth. 64 QAM modulation over a 20MHz wide channel will be the same amount of data regardless of whether it is delivered over 2.4GHz, 5GHz, etc.

More bandwidth is available between 5.745GHz and 5.825GHz than the 2.4GHz band and more channels should be available soon to get us back to 5.28GHz through 5.825GHz that was previously available.

The actual frequency is just the carrier and has little effect over the data transmitted as long as the signal strengths are comparable.

The main problem we will see with 5GHz adoption on a broad scale is compatibility with older devices that have no 5GHz options; cell phones, Gameboy DS, PS3, Xbox 360, etc.