Wi-Fi has been around since 1997 and is a wireless protocol developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) under the technical 802.11 name. Since the start of the first Wi-Fi generation there have been several improvements and enhancements made to Wi-Fi so there now is a range of different Wi-Fi standards and generations. The different Wi-Fi standards typically have a technical name such as 802.11ac or 802.11ax, with the newest one being 802.11be. Recently, more user-friendly names have been introduced to make it easier for users to distinguish the different Wi-Fi generations, for example Wi-Fi 5 for the 801.11ac standard, Wi-Fi 6 for the 802.11ax standard and Wi-Fi 7 for the newest standard.

Wi-Fi uses different frequencies to carry the data wirelessly from the router or access point to the end device. Traditionally, only the 2.4 GHz band has been used which offers a wider range but lower throughout. Over time, the 5 GHz band has been added to increase the throughput, but this band has a lower range than the 2.4 GHz band. Most recently, the 6 GHz band has been introduced which greatly increases the throughput; however, the range is again a bit lower than on the 5 GHz band.

Most improvements have been made in the following areas:

• Speed: The throughput has been increased from Wi-Fi generation to Wi-Fi generation
• Performance: The Wi-Fi performance has been improved
• Improved technologies: New technologies have been developed to better handle multiple devices simultaneously, reduce latency, improve stability and new Wi-Fi bands have been introduced over time (5 GHz and 6 GHz)
• Increased number of radios: Over time, Wi-Fi systems moved away from having only a single radio and many systems on the market are now dual-band, tri-band or even quad-band systems which greatly improves Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage

Benefits of using newer Wi-Fi standards such as Wi-Fi 6, 6E (introducing the 6 GHz band) or Wi-Fi 7 include:

• Faster speeds which lower the time it takes to download something or to complete a backup within your home network
• Better quality for video streaming or gaming
• Lower latency for video calls, gaming and AR/VR

Number of radios

Old Wi-Fi systems usually only had one radio, the 2.4 GHz radio, which only allowed for vey limited connectivity. Over time, manufacturers have added the so-called dual-band, tri-band and quad-band systems. These systems have more than one radio, for example, a dual-band system offers 2.4 and 5 GHz simultaneously, a tri-band system offers 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz simultaneously and a quad-band system offers 2.4, 2 x 5 GHz and 6 GHz simultaneously which allows end-devices to connect to the optimal frequency and greatly enhances the throughput. In mesh Wi-Fi systems, tri-band or quad-band systems often offer a dedicated backhaul which means that these systems have a dedicated radio for the communications between the different mesh nodes or access points so the radios used for end devices can still use all their bandwidth.

Wi-Fi standards

Generation	IEEE standard	Maximum speed	Frequency bands	Year established
Wi-Fi 1*	802.11	2 Mbit/s	2.4 GHz	1997
Wi-Fi 2*	802.11b	11 Mbit/s	2.4 GHz	1999
Wi-Fi 3*	802.11a 802.11g	6 Mbit/s 54 Mbit/s	5 GHz 2.4 GHz	1999 2003
Wi-Fi 4	802.11n	600 Mbit/s	2.4, 5 GHz	2009
Wi-Fi 5	802.11ac	6.933 Mbit/s	5 GHz	2013
Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi 6E	802.11ax	9.608 Mbit/s	2.4, 5 GHz 6 GHz	2021
Wi-Fi 7	802.11be	46 Gbit/s	2.4, 5 and 6 GHz	2024

* These generation names are not official names. Officially, the generations are only named from Wi-Fi 4 onwards.

Please note that Wi-Fi 1 to Wi-Fi 4 are now considers legacy standards and my recommendation is to get at least a Wi-Fi 6 system if you plan to buy a new Wi-Fi system now. Wi-Fi 7 devices offer a great amount of throughput but are extremely expensive. Also note that the speeds mentioned above show the optimal speeds. However, due to physical limitations such as walls or ceilings, the actual speed will be lower. Consumer devices also do not have the necessary high-end equipment installed to reach the maximum throughput.

Understanding the different Wi-Fi standards with all their enhancements, speeds and frequency bands can help you to find a router, access point or mesh Wi-Fi system which suits your needs. Which Wi-Fi standard you need depends on various factors such as if you have a house or a flat, how many devices with which Wi-Fi standards you have, how many bandwidth you need, how fast your internet speed is and if you need high bandwidth within your home network for backups from one device to another or other bandwidth intensive tasks.