What are 802.11a/b/g?

IEEE 802.11 is the wireless local area network (WLAN) standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g are 3 most well-known 802.11 specifications.

802.11b and 802.11g standards use the 2.4 GHz radio frequency (RF) band. As many household appliances are operating in this frequency band, e.g. microwave ovens, cordless telephones and Bluetooth devices, 802.11b / 802.11g wireless devices may be susceptible to interference occasionally.

In contrast, 802.11a standard uses a different 5 GHz radio frequency band, which suffers less interference.

The table summarizes the difference among 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g.