Wi-Fi standards 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) and 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)

Here is a comparison between the Wi-Fi standards 802.11ac (also known as Wi-Fi 5) and 802.11ax (also known as Wi-Fi 6):

Speed and Throughput:

802.11ac: It offers maximum theoretical speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps (Gigabits per second) in the 5 GHz frequency band.

802.11ax: It supports much higher speeds and offers maximum theoretical speeds of up to 9.6 Gbps, which is almost eight times faster than 802.11ac. It achieves this by utilizing more advanced modulation techniques and wider channel bandwidths.

Frequency Bands:

802.11ac: It operates in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.

802.11ax: Like 802.11ac, it also operates in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, but it introduces a new frequency band called 6 GHz, which provides additional spectrum for faster and more reliable connections.

Channel Width:

802.11ac: It supports channel widths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and in some cases, 160 MHz.

802.11ax: It supports channel widths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and introduces 320 MHz channel widths. The wider channel widths allow for higher data transfer rates.

Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO):

802.11ac: It supports multi-user MIMO, which allows simultaneous data transmission to multiple devices, but only in the downstream direction (from the access point to the devices).

802.11ax: It enhances multi-user MIMO by introducing support for both upstream and downstream multi-user MIMO. This enables more efficient use of available spectrum and better performance in crowded environments.

OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access):

802.11ac: It uses OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) for data transmission.

802.11ax: It introduces OFDMA, which allows simultaneous transmission of data to multiple devices by dividing a channel into smaller sub-channels, called Resource Units (RUs). OFDMA improves efficiency and reduces latency, especially in congested environments.

Target Wake Time (TWT):

802.11ac: It does not support TWT, which is a power-saving feature.

802.11ax: It introduces TWT, which enables devices to schedule specific times for data transmission and reception, conserving battery life and improving power efficiency.

Overall, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) offers significant improvements over 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) in terms of speed, capacity, and efficiency, making it better suited for handling the growing number of devices and data-intensive applications in modern networks.

Aspect	802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5)	802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)
Speed	Up to 1.3 Gbps	Up to 9.6 Gbps
Frequency Bands	2.4 GHz, 5 GHz	2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz
Channel Widths	20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz	20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz
MIMO	SU-MIMO (Single-User MIMO)	SU-MIMO, MU-MIMO (Multi-User MIMO)
OFDMA	No	Yes
Simultaneous Connections	Up to 4 devices	Up to 8 devices (per channel)
Range	Similar to 802.11n	Similar to 802.11ac
Target Wake Time (TWT)	No	Yes
Throughput	Varies based on channel width and conditions	Improved throughput due to more efficient spectrum utilization

The speeds mentioned are theoretical maximums and can vary based on environmental factors, network congestion, and device capabilities.