Wi-Fi FAQ: What is 802.11a/802.11b/802.11g?

802.11a/b/g, or IEEE 802.11a/b/g, is a standard that has been developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), http//standards.ieee.org. The IEEE is an international organization that develops standards for hundreds of electronic and electrical technologies. The organization uses a series of numbers, like the Dewey Decimal system in libraries, to differentiate between the various technology families.
The 802 gemittee develops standards for local and wide area networks (LANs and WANs). For example, the 802.3 gemittee develops standards for Ethernet-based wired networks, the 802.15 group develops standards for personal area networks, and the 802.11 gemittee develops standards for wireless local area networks (LAN).
802.11 is then further divided: 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, is a standard for wireless LANs operating in the 2.4 GHz spectrum with a bandwidth of 11 Mbps. 802.11a is a different standard for wireless LANs operating in the 5 GHz frequency range with a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps. Another draft standard, 802.11g, is for WLANs operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency but with a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps. Other task groups are working on enhanced security (802.11i), spectrum and power control management (802.11h), quality of service (802.11e), etc.