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Wi-Fi5 represents wireless LAN products based on the IEEE 802.11a specification operating at radio frequency ranges of 5 GHz. However, today all 802.11-based products are generically referred to as Wi-Fi.
Techopedia Explains Wi-Fi5
Wi-Fi5 includes a narrow range of connectivity technology including wireless LANs (WLANs) based on IEEE 802.11 standards. It also provides device to device connectivity and technologies supporting personal area network and LAN connections. Wi-Fi5 products complying with Wi-Fi Alliance interoperability testing successfully use the Wi-Fi certified designation.Wi-Fi5-compliant and certified devices are deployed in numerous video games, personal computers, digital cameras, smart phones, printers, etc. Such devices connect to the Internet when they are within range of wireless networks connected to the Internet. The coverage of access points, normally referred to as hotspots, ranges from small rooms to large areas. They are also used in campuses and within city limits. They provide either free public access or access based on specified requirements for subscribers. It is also possible to connect Wi-Fi devices in ad hoc modes for connections between clients without routers.Wi-Fi5 permits communication directly from one computer to another without involving an access point and is termed the ad hoc mode of Wi-Fi5 transmission. The Wi-Fi Alliance also promotes a Wi-Fi5 direct specification for file transfer and media sharing. It permits the deployment of WLAN devices, thereby reducing the cost of expansion and network deployment. WLANs are extensively used in corporate infrastructure. Current versions of Wi-Fi5 protected access encryption are secure and provide users with strong passphrases.Wi-Fi5 networks only have limited range. Wireless routers usually have ranges of 120 ft. indoors and 300 ft. outdoors. The ranges supported also vary with frequency band. They have fairly high power consumption compared to their counterpart standards.
Different parts of the world use different parts of the available spectrum. Thus, the geographic location determines the available portion of the 5 GHz band. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allocated all 3 bands for unlicensed transmission. However, in Europe only the low and middle bands are provided free.Wi-Fi5 uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, which is a new encoding scheme offering benefits over the spread spectrum in channel availability and data rate. Channel availability is important as the number of channels is directly proportional to wireless network scalability. High data rates are accomplished by combining lower speed sub carriers to create one high speed channel.
