No one ever explained this Shambles at Uni, or any Networking course I´ve taken…FFS.
How many of us thought a 5G phone connects to the cellular network at 5Ghz and transferred data at up to that speed?? Nope! How many off us thought a 5G router used the same frequencies as the Cell networks? Depends...
Confusing Mess of “G Standards” and Ghz frequencies:
The Cellular "Gs" (The Generations)
| Generation | Standard | Primary Frequencies | Top Speed (Typical) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1G | AMPS | 800 MHz | 0.0024 Mbps (Analog) |
| 2G | GSM/CDMA | 900 / 1900 MHz | 0.1 Mbps |
| 3G | HSPA | 1900 / 2100 MHz | 2 Mbps |
| 4G | LTE | 700 / 1700 / 2100 MHz | 20–50 Mbps |
| 5G | NR | 600 MHz – 39 GHz | 200–1,000+ Mbps |
The Wi-Fi Standards (The IEEE "Gs")
| IEEE Standard | Marketing Name | Frequencies | Max Speed (Close Range) | Speed at Max Indoor Range (~100–150ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 802.11b | Wi-Fi 1 | 2.4 GHz | 11 Mbps | 1–2 Mbps |
| 802.11a | (Legacy 5G) | 5 GHz | 54 Mbps | 6 Mbps (Short reach) |
| 802.11g | Wi-Fi 3 | 2.4 GHz | 54 Mbps | 5–10 Mbps |
| 802.11n | Wi-Fi 4 | 2.4 / 5 GHz | 150–600 Mbps | 20–50 Mbps |
| 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 5 | 5 GHz | 1,300+ Mbps | 100–200 Mbps |
| 802.11ax | Wi-Fi 6 / 6E | 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz | 9,600 Mbps | 400–600 Mbps |
| 802.11be | Wi-Fi 7 | 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz | 46,000 Mbps | 1,000+ Mbps |