What's The Difference Between 802.11ac Vs. 802.11ax? - TechTarget

802.11ac vs. 802.11ax vs. 802.11be: Key differences

The 802.11 standards -- 802.11ac, 802.11ax and 802.11be -- differ in the following capabilities:

• Frequency bands.
• Spatial streams.
• Maximum data rates.
• Modulation.

Frequency bands

Both 802.11ac and 802.11ax support dual-band access points (APs). Although the term dual-band AP implies it can transmit signals from two frequency bands, 802.11ac mainly uses the 5 gigahertz (GHz) band. It can use the 2.4 GHz band, but this reflects a much older standard -- namely, 802.11n. The 802.11ax standard can provide both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

The newer 802.11be specification, however, promises to exceed both standards. While 802.11ax can provide both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, 802.11be aims to go a step further to support the 6 GHz band as well.

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The differences among the frequency bands of 802.11ac, 802.11ax and 802.11be are as follows:

• 802.11ac operates only in the 5 GHz band.
• 802.11ax works in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
• 802.11be uses the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands.

Spatial streams

The standards also differ in how many spatial streams they can support. Although the 802.11ac and 802.11ax standards could hypothetically support up to eight spatial streams, the hardware market stagnated at four. Most compatible APs and devices can't support more than four spatial streams in either specification.

The spatial streams of 802.11ac and 802.11ax are capped at half their theoretical capacity. Their successor, 802.11be, could potentially offer up to 16 spatial streams.

Maximum data rates

Due to hardware limitations, the 802.11ac standard never got close to delivering its maximum potential data rate of 6.9 Gbps. Its successor, 802.11ax, could deliver a higher theoretical maximum rate of 9.6 Gbps, but most users can't achieve those speeds in real-world situations.

The 802.11be standard promises to offer a significantly higher maximum of 46 Gbps. The large increase in 802.11be's projected data rates is thanks to its significant advancements over its predecessors. A well-designed Wi-Fi network typically provides better data rates at the same ranges and power levels as the technology teams are replacing. Essentially, users can expect better quality with the latest standard.

Modulation

All three specifications use quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), a technique that determines the amount of data transmission each standard can support. Each new specification release experienced significant jumps in QAM capabilities:

• 802.11ac: 256 QAM.
• 802.11ax: 1024 QAM.
• 802.11be: 4096 QAM.

This increased modulation of 802.11be enables the standard to use more spectrum for data transfer and less for management.

Areas in which 802.11be improved include the following:

• Increased bandwidth.
• Advanced modulation.
• Multilink operation.