WiFi Standards Timeline: 802.11b to 802.11bn With Dates, Speeds and Bands
Every WiFi device you own speaks some version of IEEE 802.11, the wireless LAN standard first published in 1997 and amended dozens of times since. The IEEE writes the engineering; the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group formed in 1999, certifies products and owns the brand names on the box. That split is why one technology has two sets of names (802.11ax and “Wi-Fi 6” are the same thing) and why the dates you find online rarely agree: certification often starts years before the IEEE formally approves a standard.
This page lists every mainline generation with the numbers that matter, then the side standards that never became a generation but still shape how your network behaves. It reflects the state of play as of October 2026.
The master table
Dates are IEEE approval years unless noted. Rates are maximum theoretical PHY rates, meaning every spatial stream, the widest channel and the best modulation all at once, under ideal conditions. No real client gets them (more on that in the hidden math behind WiFi speed claims).
| IEEE standard | Wi-Fi Alliance name | Approved | Bands | Max channel width | Max theoretical rate | MIMO | Defining feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 802.11 | none | 1997 | 2.4 GHz (plus infrared) | 22 MHz | 2 Mbps | none | First standard; CSMA/CA channel access, DSSS and FHSS radios |
| 802.11b | none | 1999 | 2.4 GHz | 22 MHz | 11 Mbps | none | First mass-market WiFi (CCK modulation) |
| 802.11a | none | 1999 | 5 GHz | 20 MHz | 54 Mbps | none | First OFDM WiFi, first use of 5 GHz |
| 802.11g | none | 2003 | 2.4 GHz | 20 MHz | 54 Mbps | none | OFDM brought to 2.4 GHz, backward compatible with b |
| 802.11n | Wi-Fi 4 | 2009 | 2.4 and 5 GHz | 40 MHz | 600 Mbps | up to 4 streams | MIMO and channel bonding |
| 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 5 | 2013 | 5 GHz | 160 MHz | 6.9 Gbps | up to 8 streams, downlink MU-MIMO | 256-QAM, 80 and 160 MHz channels |
| 802.11ax | Wi-Fi 6 / Wi-Fi 6E | 2021 (certified from 2019) | 2.4, 5 GHz; 6 GHz for 6E | 160 MHz | 9.6 Gbps | up to 8 streams, uplink and downlink MU-MIMO | OFDMA, Target Wake Time, BSS Coloring, 1024-QAM |
| 802.11be | Wi-Fi 7 | 2024 (published July 2025; certified from January 2024) | 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz | 320 MHz | about 23 Gbps | up to 8 streams | Multi-Link Operation, 4096-QAM, preamble puncturing |
| 802.11bn | Wi-Fi 8 | Draft; final approval targeted for 2028 | 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz | 320 MHz | about 23 Gbps (unchanged) | up to 8 streams | Multi-AP coordination, reliability and latency targets |
A few notes the table can’t hold.
The Wi-Fi Alliance only started numbering generations in 2018, beginning with Wi-Fi 4 for 802.11n. It never assigned official numbers to 802.11a, b or g. You will see “Wi-Fi 1, 2, 3” in circulation, but those backfilled labels are unofficial and different sources map them differently, so it is safer to use the IEEE letters for anything older than 802.11n.
802.11ac was sold in two waves. Wave 1 products (from 2013) used 80 MHz channels and single-user MIMO; Wave 2 (around 2016) added 160 MHz and downlink MU-MIMO. The 6.9 Gbps ceiling assumes eight streams at 160 MHz, a configuration almost no consumer product shipped.
Wi-Fi 6E is not a separate IEEE standard. It is 802.11ax operating in the 6 GHz band, which the US FCC opened for unlicensed use in April 2020. The Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying 6E devices in January 2021. The WiFi 6 vs WiFi 6E vs WiFi 7 comparison covers what that extra spectrum buys you in practice.
Why you see 46 Gbps for Wi-Fi 7
Early 802.11be drafts allowed up to 16 spatial streams, and 16 streams at 320 MHz with 4096-QAM works out to roughly 46 Gbps. That figure went into slide decks, press coverage and some product marketing in 2022 and 2023. The 16-stream option was dropped before the standard was finalized, so the approved 802.11be tops out at eight streams and about 23 Gbps (2.88 Gbps per stream at 320 MHz, times eight).
Neither number is a speed anyone will see. A typical two-stream phone on a 160 MHz channel has a ceiling under 3 Gbps before overhead, distance and walls take their share. Router boxes add another layer of inflation by summing the ceilings of every radio in the unit; a “BE19000” label is the total across bands, never the rate to one device.
What Wi-Fi 7 changed in a way users can feel is Multi-Link Operation: one client connected over two or more bands at once, with traffic moved to whichever link is clearer. That shows up as lower and steadier latency much more than as a higher speed test result.
Where Wi-Fi 8 stands in October 2026
802.11bn, branded Wi-Fi 8 and developed under the name Ultra High Reliability (UHR), is still a draft. The project’s targets are about the bad moments rather than the peak: 25% more throughput in poor signal conditions, 25% lower latency at the 95th percentile and 25% fewer lost packets, including during roaming. It keeps Wi-Fi 7’s bands, channel widths and top modulation, so the theoretical ceiling stays at about 23 Gbps.
The milestones so far:
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Task group work begins | 2023 |
| Draft 1.0 letter ballot | July 2025 |
| Draft 2.0 approved for letter ballot | July 2026 |
| Draft 2.0 ballot passes (76.5% approval, about 8,000 comments) | results announced September 2026 |
| Draft 3.0 ballot | projected January 2027 |
| First IEEE SA ballot (Draft 4.0) | projected May 2027 |
| Final IEEE approval | projected March to May 2028 |
Wi-Fi Alliance certification for Wi-Fi 8 is expected around the turn of 2027 into 2028. Draft-based hardware is already here anyway: ASUS began selling its ROG Rapture GT-BN98 router as an “802.11bn draft” product in autumn 2026, following chip announcements from Broadcom, MediaTek and Qualcomm. That is the same pattern Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 followed. Treat these as early hardware that will need firmware updates to reach the final spec. The full Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) reference goes through each feature, and there is a shorter primer on multi-AP coordination, the feature that defines the generation.
Side standards that matter
Most 802.11 amendments never get a consumer name. Some add a new radio for a niche; others change how the main generations behave and quietly end up in every router.
| Standard | Approved | What it does | Common name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 802.11i | 2004 | AES-CCMP encryption and the 4-way handshake | Basis of WPA2 |
| 802.11e | 2005 | Quality of service, traffic priority classes | WMM |
| 802.11r | 2008 | Fast BSS transition: pre-authenticated roaming | Fast roaming |
| 802.11k | 2008 | Radio measurement: AP neighbor reports for clients | Assisted roaming |
| 802.11w | 2009 | Protected management frames, blocks forged disconnects | PMF (required by WPA3) |
| 802.11p | 2010 | Vehicle-to-vehicle radio at 5.9 GHz | DSRC |
| 802.11v | 2011 | Network management, including BSS transition requests | Steering |
| 802.11ad | 2012 | 60 GHz radio, 2.16 GHz channels, multi-gigabit (about 7 Gbps) over a few meters | WiGig |
| 802.11af | 2014 | Operation in unused TV channels below 1 GHz | White-Fi |
| 802.11ah | 2016 (certified 2021) | Sub-1 GHz, 1 to 16 MHz channels, up to about 347 Mbps, ranges past 1 km | Wi-Fi HaLow |
| 802.11ay | 2021 | Next-generation 60 GHz, bonded channels up to 8.64 GHz, MIMO, over 100 Gbps theoretical | WiGig 2 |
| 802.11bh | 2025 | Network behavior with randomized client MAC addresses | none |
| 802.11bk | 2025 | 320 MHz positioning (fine timing measurement) | none |
| 802.11bf | 2025 | WLAN sensing: detecting motion and presence from radio signals | none |
| 802.11bi | nearing approval (expected 2026) | Enhanced privacy for client identity | none |
| 802.11bp | in progress (target 2028) | Ambient power: very low-power, energy-harvesting devices | none |
The three roaming amendments (r, k and v) are the reason a mesh system can move your phone between nodes without a dropped call; they’re covered in detail in 802.11r, 802.11k and 802.11v explained. The 60 GHz pair is mostly dead for laptops but alive in a few niches, which the WiGig post maps out. HaLow is the one most likely to show up in a smart home or farm over the next few years; see HaLow (802.11ah) explained.
Security has its own track. 802.11i gave us WPA2, and its later weaknesses (the KRACK attack in 2017) pushed the move to WPA3, which the Wi-Fi Alliance made mandatory for Wi-Fi 6 certification. The practical differences are in WPA3 vs WPA2.
How the bands changed over time
Three bands carry nearly all WiFi traffic, and each generation’s choice of band explains a lot about how it behaved.
2.4 GHz was the original band and is still the default for cheap IoT devices. It has only three non-overlapping 20 MHz channels in most countries, and it shares airspace with Bluetooth, Zigbee, Thread and microwave ovens. Its long wavelength goes through walls well. 802.11b, g and n all lived here.
5 GHz arrived with 802.11a in 1999 but only became mainstream with 802.11n dual-band routers and then 802.11ac, which dropped 2.4 GHz entirely. Wider channels fit here, at the cost of range; why 5 GHz is faster but shorter-range than 2.4 GHz explains the physics.
6 GHz opened in 2020 in the US and later, in varying amounts, in other regions. Only Wi-Fi 6E and newer devices can use it, so it has no legacy clients slowing things down. It is the only band with room for 320 MHz channels.
Nothing new is on the way for mainstream WiFi. Wi-Fi 8 adds no spectrum. The next gains come from better use of the same channels, which is why channel planning in a dense building and AP placement still matter as much as the generation number.
Reading a spec sheet with this table
When a router or laptop lists its WiFi support, three things decide your real speed more than the generation: how many spatial streams the client has (most phones have two), which channel width the router actually uses (many default to 80 MHz on 5 GHz), and signal quality at the client, which you can check in dBm.
The generation tells you which features are available. Wi-Fi 6 gets you OFDMA and Target Wake Time, which help crowded networks and battery devices (OFDMA explained). Wi-Fi 7 gets you Multi-Link Operation and 320 MHz if both ends support it. Wi-Fi 8 will get you coordinated access points, but only when the router and clients both speak it, and certified products are a 2028 story.
WiFi isn’t the only radio in the house either. Smart home gear increasingly runs on Thread rather than WiFi, and Matter ties the two together; Matter and Thread explained covers how they share your network. Headphones, trackers and keyboards sit on Bluetooth, whose version numbers are just as muddled as WiFi’s; see Bluetooth versions compared.
For a practical buying rule as of late 2026: Wi-Fi 7 is the mature, certified choice. Wi-Fi 6 and 6E remain fine for most homes. Wi-Fi 8 is worth watching through the Draft 3.0 ballot in early 2027, and worth buying only if you like being a beta tester. For architecture decisions that outlast any generation, start with mesh WiFi vs access points and the comprehensive WiFi guide.