802.11 Standards Evolution
The IEEE 802.11 standard family has evolved through multiple generations, each improving throughput, efficiency, and range. 802.11a/b/g (Wi-Fi 1-3) are obsolete for enterprise use. 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) introduced MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennas for spatial multiplexing. 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) brought MU-MIMO (multi-user MIMO) allowing simultaneous transmission to multiple clients, wider channels up to 160 MHz, and theoretical throughput up to 3.5 Gbps on the 5 GHz band. 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6 on 2.4/5 GHz, Wi-Fi 6E adding the 6 GHz band) is the current enterprise standard, introducing OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access) for efficient simultaneous transmission to many clients, BSS Coloring to reduce co-channel interference, Target Wake Time (TWT) for IoT battery efficiency, and throughput up to 9.6 Gbps theoretical.