802.11aq – the one that let you see before you joined

IEEE Std 802.11aq-2018, Amendment 5 to the 2016 revision, tackled a simple but important problem: how can a device know **what a Wi-Fi network offers before it joins**? no "Task Group aq" named in the sources, but this update gave Wi-Fi something it sorely needed – **preassociation service discovery**.

normally, your device sees a list of SSIDs and maybe a signal strength. but that tells you nothing about what’s behind those networks – is it open access? does it have internet? is it part of a subscription service or a captive portal? 802.11aq made it possible to find out – **before** you connect.

the amendment added mechanisms that let **STAs (stations)** request **network service info** from something called an **Advertisement Server**, using the already-established **Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP)** – the same system used by 802.11u for Hotspot 2.0.

requests could be answered locally by the access point or passed through a **proxy to a back-end server**. the result? the user (or device) could make an informed choice about which network to join, based on what services were available – like streaming, login options, or enterprise access.

this made Wi-Fi more **user-friendly and automated**, especially in roaming scenarios or environments with multiple overlapping SSIDs. 802.11aq functionality became part of **802.11-2020**, quietly powering the smarter network selection logic in modern operating systems and mobile devices.

802.11aq gave your device a preview. instead of blindly connecting and hoping for the best, now it could ask, "what’s in there?" – and decide wisely.