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The Wi-Fi Alliance rebranded the generation names of Wi-Fi technology to make them easier for people to understand.
Wi-Fi technology naming convention deviated from the initial alphabetic sequence when the third generation 802.11g standard rolled out. Since then succeeding upgrades made use of the letters “n,” “ac” and “ax” to designate the level of technology. Since the letters did not follow commonly understood sequences, it created confusion as to which version is the latest.
The Alliance decided to simplify things and adopt a numerical sequence to label the version and level of technological advancement, according to a statement.
As such, the current 802.11n, ac and ax standards will be renamed as Wi-Fi 4, 5 and 6 respectively. The previous 802.11a, b, and g standards will then be Wi-Fi 1, 2 and 3. Adoption of the new naming format by device manufacturers would better inform users of the kind of wireless connectivity experience they can expect from a product.
“For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sort through technical naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance.
The naming convention change will also be applied on the user interface of wireless devices. Users will be able to see what kind of network they are connected to from Wi-Fi 1 through 6 and future versions. The Wi-Fi version tag will also change in real time as users switch from one network to another.
Wi-Fi Alliance certification for Wi-Fi 6 technology will be sometime in 2019. /ra
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