Standards for Wireless Networking

In order to ensure wireless devices from different manufacturers can communicate with one another, it was necessary to develop standards (it was also important to develop a cool acronym for the organization which developed the standards - the IEEE, or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).

The name of the standard for wireless networks is 802.11

When we talk about wireless networks for home or small business use, we use 3 standards:

802.11b - the b standard is the oldest. It transfers data at 11 Megabytes per second or Mbps (remember, Mega is million so that's 11 million bytes of data per second) and uses a frequency of 2.4 GigaHertz (GHz).

802.11g - the g standard is replacing the b standard. It still uses the 2.4 GHz frequency but can transfer data at 54 Mbps.

802.11n - the n standard is newest (that's not what the n stands for though). It can transmit at up to 600 Mbps. It still uses the 2.4 GHz frequency. If you buy a computer with wireless today you will likely be getting 802.11n.

All of these are downward compatible.

Curiously, the 2.4 GHz frequency is also used by mobile phones and microwaves. If you are having trouble with your mobile phone and you have a wireless network, you might consider checking the frequency of your mobile phone. Also you may notice performance problems with your network while your microwave is running, if the microwave and computer are running at the same time and they are close together (you'll definetely have problems if you put the computer IN the microwave....). Perhaps this is a prelude to when they combine microwave and wireless technologies, which would allow us to transmit food from one place to another wirelessly....

Legal stuff: This information is for general educational purposes only. Use at your own risk, and I can't be held responsible if something goes wrong. If you have questions consult a computer technician.