Making Sense of Wireless Standards

Given the prevalence of Wi-Fi compatible devices such as the iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV, it’s easy to take wireless internet access for granted. One integral piece of the Wi-Fi puzzle that many people overlook is their router.

In many cases a router—which generates the Wi-Fi these devices rely on—can make or break a user experience. For example, my family had an older Netgear router which we never bothered to upgrade. It had never failed, so we fell back on the mantra: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, this past Christmas, we began to experience Wi-Fi problems, so we upgraded to an AirPort Extreme.

Our collection of Wi-Fi compatible devices had grown significantly since we purchased the Netgear and we needed a sturdy router to support the constant use. Many of our devices aren’t made by Apple, or are older, and don’t support 802.11n. As I researched the different items, I began to see 802.11a/b/g in addition to n. Suddenly it hit me: what do all these letters mean?

After doing some very nerdy research, I found a great article that put things into layman’s terms. Essentially, the differences between networking standards come down to three major points:

1. Data Transfer Rate:
This is the amount of data that can be transferred between your device and router and is usually measured in Mbit/s (megabits per second). This number is important for many reasons, but especially when streaming. For instance, a higher transfer rate will enable you to effortlessly stream movies from Netflix, or music from Pandora.

2. Frequency:
There are two standards of wireless frequency: 5GHz and 2.4GHz, and different devices typically run on different frequencies. If your device is 802.11n compatible, it can run on the 5GHz frequency, meaning less interference from other frequencies being produced throughout the house. For instance, some higher end wireless phones operate on a 2.4GHz frequency which may interrupt your Wi-Fi connection.

3. Range:
A router’s range indicates how far it can broadcast. The average range for 802.11a/b/g is about 115ft-125ft, and for 802.1n is 230ft. Wireless ‘n’ clearly makes a big difference, and it means that a network’s range can easily cover an entire home or small office.

So now that we’ve demystified wireless terminology, which standard do you want? 802.11n of course!

Not only does it have the highest average transfer rate at 74 Mbit/s, but it broadcasts at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. This means some 802.11n routers, such as the AirPort Extreme, have dual band technology allowing 2.4GHz and 5GHz devices to run in harmony. Prior to this technology, introducing anything slower than ‘n’ would bog down the whole network to 2.4GHz. Dual band means that non 802.11n devices can connect to the router without affecting the overall speed.

For example, in our home we run a Logitech Squeeze Box, several Macs, an Apple TV, a Wii, and a PS3. All of these devices run on a different wireless standard, meaning before we updated to the AirPort Extreme, they were all on a slow, 802.11g network. This was fine for the old iBook, game consoles, and Logitech Squeeze Box, but every time the MacBook Pro joined the network, it would crash.

After swapping out the Netgear for the AirPort Extreme, “WOW!” was all I had to say. The speed difference is incredible, and everything has been working smoothly ever since. 802.11g devices connect at 2.4GHz, while our new Apple TV connects at 5GHz, providing us with very little to no buffer time on Netflix and iTunes rentals.

It is worth noting that a lot of this speed still relies on your internet service provider. An AirPort Extreme will not magically make your internet faster. If your ISP has slow service, or you subscribe to an economy plan, it’s still going to be slow. However, if an old router is the weakest link in your wireless setup, consider upgrading to an AirPort Extreme or an AirPort Express. I bet you’ll notice a big difference. I know I did!