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WiFi ac (WiFi 5) - Brief Definition

The WiFi standard IEEE 802.11ac (WiFi 5) achieves speeds of up to 6.9 Gbit/s and offers clear advantages over earlier standards thanks to optimizations in the transmission protocol.

What is WiFi ac?

The WiFi standard 802.11ac achieves higher transmission speeds than previous standards. WiFi 5 – aptly named – only uses the 5 GHz frequency band, while its predecessor IEEE-802.11n (WiFi 4) supports transmissions in both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.


Since an AC-capable router typically also supports the predecessor standard due to backward compatibility , dual-band capable devices can usually take advantage of both the enormous speed benefits of the 5 GHz band and the greater range of the 2.4 GHz band. devolo products with WiFi 5 operate on both frequency bands by default.


Compared to earlier standards, WiFi 5 offers a number of additional technical advantages, including the expansion of channel width to up to 80 or 160 MHz, simultaneous WiFi coverage for multiple devices (Multi-User-MIMO), and the use of higher quality modulation techniques such as 256-QAM.

The WiFi Standards at a Glance:

  • 802.11: The standard from 1999 achieved speeds of around 2 Mbits/s.
  • 802.11b: This extension dates back to 1999 and operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band. The maximum data rate is 11 Mbit/s.
  • 802.11g: In 2003, the WiFi standard 802.11g was defined, which achieves speeds of up to 54 Mbit/s in the 2.4 GHz band.
  • 802.11n : The WiFi n standard from 2009 was the first to use innovative MIMO technology and achieves a maximum speed of 600 Mbit/s in dual-band operation at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
  • 802.11ac: The WiFi standard ac (WiFi 5) has been in use since 2013 and achieves maximum WiFi speeds of nearly 7 Gbit/s. The shorter transmission duration reduces energy consumption.
  • 802.11ax: The WiFi standard ax (WiFi 6) boasts transmission rates of up to 9.6 Gbit/s and multitasking features like OFDMA.

Top devolo products with WiFi ac (WiFi 5).