802.11ax vs. 802.11ac
802.11ax is a new WiFi communication standard, designed to cope with a large number of devices at once. 50 different gadgets all demanding a slice of the internet pie shouldn’t be a problem at all, even if they’re using a large amount of data.

Ready for some techy specs? 802.11ax works on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and it introduces OFDMA (which stands for the catchy Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access). This basically helps to reduce the amount of interference from other nearby WiFi networks, by using finer channels.
802.11ax vs. 802.11ac
What advantages does 802.11ax actually offer over the existing 802.11ac standard? Well, the main benefit is that 802.11ax offers up to four times the device capacity compared with 802.11ac. In other words, you can connect four times as many streaming boxes, TVs, phones and other online devices at the same time. You now have 12 spacial streams in all: four in the 2.4GHz band, and eight in the 5GHz band. Usually you just get four in total, so that's a serious step up.
You also get four times the user throughput with 802.11ax, an essential feature if you’re going to be connecting so many gadgets at once. This means you shouldn’t notice slower upload and download speeds than before, even with a lot more devices demanding data.
Find your current WiFi range quite limiting? The good news is that 802.11ax offers improved coverage, so you can spread your devices out more than ever before. And yet despite all of these improvements, 802.11ax also gives you extended device battery life.
Difference between 802.11ac and 802.11ax
802.11ac | 802.11ax | |
BANDS | 5 GHz | 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz |
CHANNEL BANDWIDTH | 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80+80 MHz & 160 MHz | 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80+80 MHz & 160 MHz |
FFT SIZES | 64, 128, 256, 512 | 256, 512, 1024, 2048 |
SUBCARRIER SPACING | 312.5 kHz | 78.125 kHz |
OFDM SYMBOL DURATION | 3.2 us + 0.8/0.4 us CP | 12.8 us + 0.8/1.6/3.2 us CP |
HIGHEST MODULATION | 256-QAM | 1024-QAM |
DATA RATES | 433 Mbps (80 MHz, 1 SS) 6933 Mbps (160 MHz, 8 SS) | 600.4 Mbps (80 MHz, 1 SS) 9607.8 Mbps (160 MHz, 8 SS) |
802.11ax Timeline
Qualcomm (Networking chip makers) has just launched the first two 802.11ax compatible chips – the IPQ8074, designed for use in routers, and the QCA6290 designed for use in connected devices such as phones and tablets. However, even though these chips are now a reality, there is no estimated arrival date for the first 802.11ax routers and devices.
Hardware standardization should be done by summer 2017 according to Qualcomm, so the first 802.11ax routers could be released in the UK and worldwide as early as second half of 2017. Otherwise, 2018 is a safe bet.
802.11ax will also be coming to the automotive industry soon, so you can expect to see cars with 802.11ax networking capabilities in the next year or so.
FAQ: 802.11ax-the next big Wi-Fi standard
Q: 802.11ax, Standards?
The IEEE standards, put simply, are agreed-upon sets of technological capabilities and features that all devices that want to call themselves, say, 802.11ac, have to have. It’s to make sure that a phone from Samsung works just as well with a Wi-Fi access point made by Aruba as it does with a router made by D-Link or Cisco. If it’s 802.11-whatever-certified, it’ll work with everything else certified for that standard.
MORE: WiFi hotspot blocking persists despite FCC crackdown
Q: New wireless tech gets invented like every day?
It certainly does, and the IEEE has a heck of a time keeping up with it. The standards process is a rigorous one, and it’s necessarily time-consuming. The newest official standard is 802.11ac, which was published in 2013. Before that, 802.11n went official in 2007.
Q: So 802.11ax isn’t fully Used?
Correct. It’s a work in progress, but it’s got a lot of exciting new capabilities – 802.11ac broadened the multi-antenna capabilities (MIMO, or multiple input, multiple output) introduced in 802.11n, but 802.11ax will be able to subdivide signals even further, using a technology called MIMO-OFDM. (Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, before you ask.)
Q: What’ll MIMO-OFDM do?
Broadly, increase throughput – second-wave 802.11ac technology advertises potential gigabit speeds, although that’s unlikely to be reachable in practice, but 802.11ax’s goal is to deliver as much as five times the capability.
Q: Is that the big point of 802.11ax, then? A simple speed upgrade?
Not exactly. 802.11ax is particularly aimed at high-density Wi-Fi deployments, improving not only speed, but the ability of connections to stay active even when interfered with heavily. If you’ve been to a technology convention or trade show lately, you’ll know that the existing co-existence features built into Wi-Fi aren’t really sufficient to particularly dense environments.
Q: It’s an efficiency thing, then.
Yeah, largely. In essence, it offers a more sophisticated system for routing bits of messages where they need to go.
Q: Sounds good – gimme gimme gimme!
Not so fast – the IEEE probably won’t drop the final certification on 802.11ax until about 2019, and it’s far from clear when certified hardware is going to start coming out. To be fair, hardware has been released before formal certification as far back as 802.11n, but that’s not necessarily something to rely on, at least for business users.
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