IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ax Networks under Various Propagation Models

Authors

Jun Peng, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

IEEE 802.11n networks are the first generation of Wi-Fi networks to reach data rates of hundreds of megabits per second. They are also the first to use MIMO technologies in Wi-Fi networks. They can operate in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands and use 20 or 40 MHz channel width. Similarly, IEEE 802.11ax networks can operate in both 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequency bands and use 20, 40, 80, or 160 MHz channel width. For channel access, IEEE 802.11ax networks use CSMA/CA, multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), and OFDMA. They can reach data rates of multiple gigabits per second. One essential factor contributing to the data rate increase is the improvement at the physical layer. IEEE 802.11ax networks use QAM with up to 1024 states; they use MIMO with up to 8 spatial streams; they use a smaller subcarrier spacing, a longer symbol duration, and more options of guard intervals. The paper studies the data rate improvement of IEEE 802.11ax over IEEE 802.11n under various propagation models due to the revisions of subcarrier spacing and guard intervals by IEEE 802.11ax.

Comments

© 2025 The Authors

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Recommended Citation

Peng, Jun. "IEEE 802.11 n and IEEE 802.11 ax Networks under Various Propagation Models." Procedia Computer Science 257 (2025): 47-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.03.009

Publication Title

Procedia Computer Science

DOI

10.1016/j.procs.2025.03.009