Wi-Fi Standards Chart: 802.11 Frequencies and Data Rates

 Wireless Frequencies & Max Data Rates

Wi-Fi has gone through several generations of IEEE 802.11 standards, each adding speed, range, or capacity over the last. Network+ and A+ both expect you to match an 802.11 standard to its frequency band, its rough maximum data rate, and increasingly its consumer-friendly "Wi-Fi" generation number.

IEEE Standard	Wi-Fi Generation	Frequency	Max Data Rate
802.11a		5 GHz	54 Mbps
802.11b		2.4 GHz	11 Mbps
802.11g		2.4 GHz	54 Mbps
802.11n	Wi-Fi 4	2.4 / 5 GHz	600 Mbps
802.11ac	Wi-Fi 5	5 GHz	6.9 Gbps
802.11ax	Wi-Fi 6	2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz	9.6 Gbps
802.11be	Wi-Fi 7	2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz	46.1 Gbps

Reading the Table

The oldest standards (802.11a/b/g) never got a "Wi-Fi" generation number — that naming scheme was introduced by the Wi-Fi Alliance in 2018, starting retroactively with Wi-Fi 4, specifically to make generations easier for consumers to compare than a string of letters after "802.11." Note that every number in the Max Data Rate column is a theoretical ceiling under ideal lab conditions; real-world speeds are always lower once you factor in distance, interference, and how many devices are sharing the connection.

2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz vs. 6 GHz

The frequency band a standard uses is a tradeoff between range and speed, not just a technical detail to memorize:

• 2.4 GHz – Longer range and better wall penetration, but fewer non-overlapping channels and heavy competition from other devices (microwaves, Bluetooth, cordless phones), which means more interference and lower real-world throughput.
• 5 GHz – Shorter range than 2.4 GHz but far more non-overlapping channels and much less interference, which is why it's favored for throughput-heavy tasks like streaming and large file transfers.
• 6 GHz – Introduced with Wi-Fi 6E (a variant of 802.11ax) and carried forward into Wi-Fi 7. It's a wide, largely interference-free swath of new spectrum, but has the shortest range of the three since higher frequencies penetrate walls and obstacles less effectively.

Notes Worth Remembering

• 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) operates on 5 GHz only as a standard — but almost every "AC" router sold is a dual-band device that also runs 802.11n on 2.4 GHz at the same time, which is why people describe AC routers as backward compatible with 2.4 GHz gear even though the AC standard itself doesn't touch that band.
• 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) was only finalized in 2024 and is new enough that it isn't yet part of current CompTIA exam objectives — know it conceptually, but don't expect it to be the focus of exam questions the way Wi-Fi 4 through 6 are.

CompTIA Exam Tip

A favorite exam pattern is a scenario that mentions a frequency or a data rate and asks which standard it describes, or the reverse: naming a standard and asking for its frequency. Memorize 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) as the first standard to operate on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, and 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) as 5 GHz only — that single distinction covers a lot of exam ground.

Key Takeaways

• 802.11a and 802.11ac both use 5 GHz only; 802.11b and 802.11g both use 2.4 GHz only.
• 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) was the first standard to support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz at once.
• 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6/6E) and 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) add the 6 GHz band on top of 2.4 and 5 GHz.
• 2.4 GHz favors range, 5 GHz favors speed with less interference, and 6 GHz favors the most interference-free speed at the shortest range.
• Every listed data rate is a theoretical maximum, not what you should expect in real-world conditions.