WiFi celebrates 22 years of being launched
The wireless connectivity standard was released in 1999, making way for what the world enjoys today in terms of Internet connection
The WiFi wireless connectivity standard meets this September 30, 22 years since the launch back in 1999 of the first version of the technology, 802.11b. This tool is the main mode of access to the Internet today. According to Cisco data, half of the world’s Internet traffic passes through these connections.
This data places WiFi far ahead of other technologies, as it far exceeds cable (24 %) and cellular (12 %) traffic. In the next two decades, the wireless network lived through several generations. In 2009, 802.11n (WiFi 4) arrived, multiplying the maximum transmission rate by nine, which went from 54 Mbps to 450 Mbps. In 2013, WiFi 5 reached a maximum speed greater than 1 Gbps.
Currently, the latest standard (802.11ax or WiFi 6) is being massively implemented, which represents a great advance in terms of speed (up to 4.8 Gbps per access point) and capacity (up to 400 % increase).
This system was launched in 2019 but it is increasingly widespread in devices and networks, and uses OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) technology that reduces latency, as well as Color BBS to avoid interference.
It also has a variant, WiFi 6E, which takes advantage of the spectrum using the 6 GHz band of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is added to the 2.4 and 5 GHz already existing in WiFi 6. In addition to connecting to the Internet with computers and mobile devices, WiFi networks can be used to connect Internet of Things devices.
Source: dpa
