802.11p – the one made for cars
IEEE Std 802.11p-2010, also known as Amendment 14, was built for speed – not in terms of throughput, but in terms of **mobility**. created by **Task Group p** and finalized in 2010, it introduced **WAVE – Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments**, designed specifically for communication on the road. this was Wi-Fi for cars, trucks, roadside units, and everything in between.
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- Written by: Enrico Aderhold
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802.11n – the one they called Wi-Fi 4
IEEE Std 802.11n-2009, Amendment 13, was the moment Wi-Fi got serious. developed by **Task Group n** and released in 2009, it was officially titled “Enhancements for Higher Throughput” – and it delivered exactly that. the goal? push past 100 Mbps at the MAC service access point (SAP), and make wireless fast enough to compete with wired LANs. mission accomplished.
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- Written by: Enrico Aderhold
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802.11w – the one that protected the invisible stuff
IEEE Std 802.11w-2009, also known as Amendment 12, wasn’t about speed, range, or shiny new features – it was about **securing the stuff no one sees**. brought to life by **Task Group w**, this one dropped in 2009 and finally addressed a weird blind spot in Wi-Fi security: the management frames.
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- Written by: Enrico Aderhold
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802.11y – the one that went licensed
IEEE Std 802.11y-2008, aka Amendment 11, was a bit of an outlier in the Wi-Fi world. instead of tweaking the usual 2.4 or 5 GHz playgrounds, it opened up a whole new band – specifically **3650 to 3700 MHz** – but only in the **United States**. no official “Task Group Y” on this one, but **Richard H. Kennedy** was in the driver’s seat, chairing the regulatory ad hoc and Task Group af efforts that shaped this amendment.
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- Written by: Enrico Aderhold
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802.11r – the one that made roaming not suck
IEEE Std 802.11r-2008, aka Amendment 10, was all about keeping things moving – literally. built by **Task Group r** and released in 2008, this one tackled a long-standing Wi-Fi pain point: roaming between access points without your call dropping or your video freezing mid-sentence.
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- Written by: Enrico Aderhold
- Hits: 12