Wireless local networking has been a massive hit with consumers and businesses, but the promise of 802.11n, the latest version of the Wi-Fi standard, is clouded with confusion. There are literally dozens of different combinations of the core technologies that make up "wireless n", and many offer performance no better than existing 802.11g networks. Sorting these out is difficult for even the most experienced wireless networking engineer, let alone the average consumer.
802.11n is the fifth major revision to the industry-standard 802.11 wireless Ethernet specification. Like its predecessors, 802.11n maintains backward-compatibility while still moving forward with new features and greater performance.
The core components of 802.11n include wider radio channels, MIMO multi-stream architecture, and tuning of the data frames sent over the network. But most of these new components are optional or scalable, so not all 802.11n connections are equal. In fact, many casual users will see no difference when moving from 802.11g to "wireless n"!
Verizon is demoing crowd analytics technology that uses 5G along with AI and mobile edge computing to give stadium operators insights into the flow of fans throughout a venue.
As we move closer to fully realizing the potential of Wi-Fi 7, it becomes evident that the RF, signaling, and throughput tests are not merely procedural checkpoints but the pillars of excellence in wireless communication.
With low earth orbit (LEO) satellites fast becoming the norm and 3GPP unifying telecom standards around the globe, the satellite IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) sector ought to be looking at a bright horizon. But is this the case?
