In-home wireless connectivity has progressed tremendously over the past decade. A look at the key features of mainstream Wi-Fi routers over time reveals some of the major capability milestones that have shaped today’s modern networks.
802.11n Wi-Fi Routers
The 802.11n standard marked Wi-Fi’s first big speed boost, taking maximum rates from 54Mbps in 802.11g to 600Mbps. Early 802.11n Wi-Fi routers were single-band 2.4GHz models focused on affordability. Most had two internal antennas supporting 2x2 MIMO for up to 300Mbps of real-world throughput.
While a huge leap forward, these routers still faced congestion issues as more devices flooded homes. The need for better coverage and higher capacity was apparent.
Dual-Band Wi-Fi Routers
Dual-band Wi-Fi routers answered the call by expanding into the 5GHz frequency band. This provided a less crowded environment, reducing interference and improving speeds. 5GHz also enabled wider 80 and 160MHz channels, boosting peak performance.
With both 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios, these routers could load balance clients between bands. Having this flexibility was critical for supporting early streaming and gaming demands.
802.11ac Wave 2 Routers
802.11ac brought an array of enhancements, including MU-MIMO, 256-QAM modulation, beamforming, and support for 160MHz channels. 802.11ac Wave 2 routers integrated key subsets of these technologies for major real-world speed gains.
For example, 4x4 MU-MIMO allowed concurrent transmission to multiple clients. Beamforming improved signal range and strength. Together, these helped 802.11ac Wave 2 routers achieve up to 2.3Gbps of combined speed.
Wi-Fi 6 Routers
Wi-Fi 6 routers implement the latest 802.11ax standard. OFDMA modulation and 1024-QAM enable faster peak rates. However, the focus is on efficiency - serving multiple devices simultaneously through features like TWT scheduling, color bitmaps, and UL/DL OFDMA.
These improvements help Wi-Fi 6 routers achieve lower latency and consistent performance, even with many connected clients. For today's smart home environments with dozens of devices, Wi-Fi 6 is the new gold standard.
The Future
Each generation of routers advanced Wi-Fi connectivity, enabling new applications. With internet demands growing unabated, we will continue to see new innovations that push the boundaries of what’s possible. The future will likely hold even faster multi-gigabit speeds along with continued gains in efficiency and capacity.
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