The 802.11 Standards Explained

Wi-Fi is defined by a family of standards under the name 802.11, set by the IEEE. Over the years, new versions have brought faster speeds and better efficiency. This lesson walks through the main 802.11 generations, from the early letters to the modern Wi-Fi 6, so you can recognize each by its name, speed, and frequency band.

Originally standards were named by letters: 802.11b, g, n, ac. Because that confused users, the Wi-Fi Alliance added friendly generation names. So 802.11n became Wi-Fi 4, 802.11ac became Wi-Fi 5, and 802.11ax became Wi-Fi 6. The exam expects you to know both the technical letter and the generation name for the major standards.