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Every 802.11 amendment from 1997 to 2024 with its release year and link speed range.
The first version of the 802.11 protocol was released in 1997 and provided up to 2 Mbit/s link speeds. That baseline defined the frame structure every later amendment still uses.
The 1999 update 802.11b permitted 11 Mbit/s link speeds, and the Wi-Fi Alliance formed in 1999 as a trade association to certify that products from different vendors interoperate.
The 802.11a amendment reaches 6 to 54 Mbit/s, and 802.11g followed in 2003, bringing comparable rates to the 2.4 GHz band that 802.11b had occupied.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
Wi-Fi 4, 802.11n, arrived in 2009 with 6.5 to 600 Mbit/s, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) in 2013 with up to 6,933 Mbit/s, and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) in 2021 with 0.4 to 9,608 Mbit/s.
Wi-Fi 7, 802.11be, was released in 2024 with rates from 0.4 to 23,059 Mbit/s. When reading a router spec sheet, match the literal amendment name rather than the marketing label.
Use this table to decide what your router must support: Wi-Fi 6 is the practical floor for a new setup, and anything below 802.11n caps link speed at 54 Mbit/s or less.
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