First (1G), second (2G), third (3G) and fourth (4G) generations of mobile technology are not new to us, however, 5G WiFi is, something that we got to hear in 2012.
5G WiFi refers to 802.11ac, the latest version of WiFi technology. 802.11 is a set of IEEE standards that govern wireless networking transmission methods. They are commonly used today in 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n versions.
It is also termed as Gigabit WiFi since it is the first WiFi technology that is capable of offering peak data rates of 1 Gbps or more, even up to 3.6 Gbps, compared to the 600 Mbps peak data rate possible with 802.11n, aka N or Wireless-N, 11ac's predecessor.
Now, why it is called the 5G WiFi is because it is the fifth generation of the technology after 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n.
The first generation of WiFi 802.11a with 3Mbps speed was used during 1997-1998 period, the second generation, 802.11b, with 11 Mbps was used during 1999-2001, the third, 802.11g, with 54 Mbps was used from 2002 to 2006 and the fourth 802.11n with 600 Mbps was used from 2007 till 2011. Development of 802.11n began in 2002, but it took seven years for the finalization of this standard.
It was Broadcom who first started using the term 5G WiFi when it launched its 802.11ac chips, early this year and also has a website 5G WiFi - 802.11ac The Standard for 5G WiFi dedicated for this.
The Wi-Fi Alliance, which establishes certification requirements for Wi-Fi devices, expects to launch a testing and certification program for 802.11ac in late 2012. The 11ac version is backward compatible with 802.11n technology.
802.11ac works exclusively in 5 GHz bands, offering much greater capacity than the 2.4 GHz bands used for most Wi-Fi devices today.
As per a report on CNet, "Similar to Wireless-N, 802.11ac, for now, comes in three tiers, based on the number of streams. The more streams, the more bandwidth a device can handle. For example, Wireless-N has caps of 150Mbps with single-stream, 300Mbps with dual-stream, and 450Mbps with three-stream. 5G Wi-Fi connections are set to be about three times faster, starting with 450Mbps in single-stream, 900Mbps (dual-stream) and 1.3Gbps (three-stream)."
The 11ac standard is still not finalized. The Initial Technical Specification Draft 0.1 for 802.11 ac was confirmed by IEEE 802.11 TGac in January 2011. However, the finalization of 802.11ac standard is anticipated to happen in late 2012, with final 802.11 Working Group approval in late 2013.
Gigabit Wi-Fi also has another platform other than 802.11ac, and it is 802.11ad (or WiGig). However, most expect 11ac to become more prevalent, similar to how LTE has an upper hand over its other 4G variant WiMAX.
In-Stat forecasts that 802.11ac-enabled devices will grow from zero in 2011 to nearly 1 billion by 2015.
Not just Broadcom, but chip-makers Quantenna Communications and Redpine Signals have also announced their products, whereas, Qualcomm Atheros has decided to wait until the standard is finalized by next year.
A couple of router companies such as Netgear, Buffalo and D-Link have also launched routers based on this latest Wi-Fi technology, and consumer electronics products maker Asus had unveiled 802.11ac-compliant notebook this year.
With inputs from Wikipedia.
©CIOL Bureau
5G WiFi refers to 802.11ac, the latest version of WiFi technology. 802.11 is a set of IEEE standards that govern wireless networking transmission methods. They are commonly used today in 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n versions.
It is also termed as Gigabit WiFi since it is the first WiFi technology that is capable of offering peak data rates of 1 Gbps or more, even up to 3.6 Gbps, compared to the 600 Mbps peak data rate possible with 802.11n, aka N or Wireless-N, 11ac's predecessor.
Now, why it is called the 5G WiFi is because it is the fifth generation of the technology after 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n.
The first generation of WiFi 802.11a with 3Mbps speed was used during 1997-1998 period, the second generation, 802.11b, with 11 Mbps was used during 1999-2001, the third, 802.11g, with 54 Mbps was used from 2002 to 2006 and the fourth 802.11n with 600 Mbps was used from 2007 till 2011. Development of 802.11n began in 2002, but it took seven years for the finalization of this standard.
It was Broadcom who first started using the term 5G WiFi when it launched its 802.11ac chips, early this year and also has a website 5G WiFi - 802.11ac The Standard for 5G WiFi dedicated for this.
The Wi-Fi Alliance, which establishes certification requirements for Wi-Fi devices, expects to launch a testing and certification program for 802.11ac in late 2012. The 11ac version is backward compatible with 802.11n technology.
802.11ac works exclusively in 5 GHz bands, offering much greater capacity than the 2.4 GHz bands used for most Wi-Fi devices today.
As per a report on CNet, "Similar to Wireless-N, 802.11ac, for now, comes in three tiers, based on the number of streams. The more streams, the more bandwidth a device can handle. For example, Wireless-N has caps of 150Mbps with single-stream, 300Mbps with dual-stream, and 450Mbps with three-stream. 5G Wi-Fi connections are set to be about three times faster, starting with 450Mbps in single-stream, 900Mbps (dual-stream) and 1.3Gbps (three-stream)."
The 11ac standard is still not finalized. The Initial Technical Specification Draft 0.1 for 802.11 ac was confirmed by IEEE 802.11 TGac in January 2011. However, the finalization of 802.11ac standard is anticipated to happen in late 2012, with final 802.11 Working Group approval in late 2013.
Gigabit Wi-Fi also has another platform other than 802.11ac, and it is 802.11ad (or WiGig). However, most expect 11ac to become more prevalent, similar to how LTE has an upper hand over its other 4G variant WiMAX.
In-Stat forecasts that 802.11ac-enabled devices will grow from zero in 2011 to nearly 1 billion by 2015.
Not just Broadcom, but chip-makers Quantenna Communications and Redpine Signals have also announced their products, whereas, Qualcomm Atheros has decided to wait until the standard is finalized by next year.
A couple of router companies such as Netgear, Buffalo and D-Link have also launched routers based on this latest Wi-Fi technology, and consumer electronics products maker Asus had unveiled 802.11ac-compliant notebook this year.
With inputs from Wikipedia.
©CIOL Bureau