When we say Wi-Fi, we clearly mean wireless access in general, even though it is a known fact that Wi-Fi is a trademark name held by the Wi-Fi alliance that allows the use of the term Wi-Fi Certified only for products that successfully completed interoperability certification testing. Such products should meet the IEEE’s set of 802.11 wireless standards. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Every Wi-Fi standard is rated by IEEE according to its maximum theoretical network bandwidth.
There are quite a few 802.11 standards, including the most known 802.11b and 802.11ac. The 802.11 technology has its origins in 1985 and has been growing ever since introducing the improvements and evolving for the most efficient throughput and range. New frequencies are discovered and used to make wireless standards more more powerful yet consuming less resources.
The speed of a wireless network connection relies on various factors. Depending on the technology standard used, Wi-Fi can support different performance levels.
Of course the performance levels will not be the same as one would expect from a theoretical maximum. One should rather expect an actual network speed be about 50% of its theoretical peak. Nevertheless Wi-Fi performance never stops improving, with every new generation becoming more and more advanced.
For example the 802.11ac standard has the following characteristics:
The next closest Wi-Fi standard to be introduced is 802.11ax, which is estimated to be released by the end of 2018 and will probably be certified by IEEE in July 2019. This standard is expected to be much faster and much more efficient in case of heavy interference. The 802.11ax routers will be MU-MIMO enabled, which means they will be able to send data to many devices at a time, while most older routers can only send data to one device at a time switching back and forth between devices quickly.
Factors that affect and limit the speed of Wi-Fi connection are network protocol overhead, radio interference, physical obstructions, the distance between devices, and the Internet service.
Do you know at what speed your Wi-Fi network is working right now? Check whether your Internet service provider offers an online speed testing service. Usually you can log in to your account and ping the service from a specific page. You’ll want to perform the test at different times of day to calculate the average. If you are not sure where to find your Internet provider’s speed test page, google for other services, there are plenty.
Why does one need a faster Wi-Fi? Well, the reasons can vary. For example to watch a movie on Netflix or a show on HBO your network speed has to conform to specific requirements to provide you with the best experience. Otherwise you are doomed to see the buffering wheel instead of following a movie plot. Sometimes you may be fine with a lower bandwidth, but if you want to watch SD, HD, or Ultra HD quality, the broadband should be sufficient.
Let’s see what you can do to speed up your Wi-Fi.
Whatever you choose to do, give every step a good thought and wait for some time after you implemented it. Did that seem to work? Do you feel the difference? Run a Wi-Fi speed test with an analyzer tool and see what are the weak spots of your Wi-Fi network and how you can enhance it.