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Networking: What are the A and N Stands for when it comes to a Router

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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENTS IN LETTERS A-N You go to Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, Office Max, Fry’s, or any of the 100’s of places that sell wireless routers and you are wanting to buy the best router for you, however you are at a crossroad. You now find that there are three types of wireless routers B, G, and N, but what one is the right one for you? Don’t know what is the difference, is it out of date, and is there an option for just reading email and basic internet information. Oh you play games and watch a lot of videos. Is the router you pick the right one for your needs? The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an organized group of engineers, and they created the standard for WiFi technology that all wireless routers follow. This is called WLAN Standard: 802.11. There was no letter designation like A, B, G, or N and this 802.11 Standard was released in 1997 just under 20 years ago today. (IEEE, 2014) There was a problem with the Standard 802.11 and that was it was far too slow. Well it was about 2mbps. They made some changes and today, wireless routers are now made to this standard. This is where we get the different letter designations and where they come in. You may of noticed that my Title has one extra letter than what I have talked about so far and that letter is “A”. A was released around the same time as B. B was a cheaper device and so they were more popular with the buying public. The 802.11a or Wireless A devices are

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