Wi-Fi routers are classified using 802.11 networking standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). These standards define the type of encoding used, the router’s maximum speed, and the router’s indoor range. The wireless standards apply to both the 2.4 Gigahertz (GHz) and 5 GHz public spectrum bands. The essential features of each standard are:

  • 802.11a – 5 GHz transmission, up to 54 megabits (Mbps) of data per second, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) encoding, 95-foot indoor range.
  • 802.11b – 2.4 GHz transmission, up to 11 Mbps, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) encoding, 150-foot indoor range.
  • 802.11g – 2.4 GHz transmission, up to 54 Mbps, OFDM, 170-foot indoor range.
  • 802.11n – 2.4 or 5 GHz transmission, 150 Mbps per antenna, OFDM, 230-foot indoor range.
  • 802.11ac – 5 GHz transmission, 433 Mbps per antenna, OFDM, 230-foot indoor range.