Belkin F5D7050 What’s the difference between 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a?, Wireless Comparison

Troubleshooting

What’s the difference between 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a?

Currently there are three levels of wireless networking standards, which transmit data at very different maximum speeds. Each is based on the designation 802.11(x), so named by the IEEE, the board that is responsible for certifying networking standards. 802.11b transmits information at 11Mbps; 802.11a and 802.11g work at 54Mbps. See the following chart for more detailed information.

Wireless Comparison

Wireless	802.11b	802.11g	802.11a
Technology
Speed	11Mbps	54Mbps	54Mbps
	Common	Common
	household devices	household devices
	such as cordless	such as cordless
Frequency	phones and	phones and	5GHz - uncrowded
	microwave ovens	microwave ovens	band
	may interfere with	may interfere with
	the unlicensed	the unlicensed
	band - 2.4GHz	band - 2.4GHz
	Compatible with	Compatible with	Incompatible with
Compatibility			802.11b or
	802.11g	802.11b
			802.11g
	Depends on	Depends on	Less interference -
	interference -	interference -
Range			range is
	typically 100–200	typically 100–200
			typically 50-100 feet
	ft. indoors	ft. indoors
			Slow adoption for
	Mature - widely	Expected to	consumers -
Adoption		continue to grow	more popular in
	adopted
		in popularity	business
			environments
Price	Inexpensive	More expensive	Most expensive

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