Which Wi-Fi standard operates only in the 5 GHz band and can reach up to 3.5 Gbps?

Which Wi-Fi standard operates only in the 5 GHz band and can reach up to 3.5 Gbps?

• A. 802.11ax
• B. 802.11b
• C. 802.11g
• D. 802.11ac

Answer: (D)

Higher-throughput Wi‑Fi relies on using wider channels in a band with less congestion. 802.11ac is designed to operate exclusively in the 5 GHz band and achieves its high speeds by using much wider channel widths (up to 160 MHz) and features like multi-user MIMO. These design choices let it reach theoretical data rates around 3.5 Gbps under ideal conditions, which is why this standard is associated with that speed and with 5 GHz-only operation. The other options don’t fit as well: 802.11ax (Wi‑Fi 6) uses both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and has newer bands with 6 GHz in Wi‑Fi 6E, offering improvements across both bands. The earlier standards, 802.11b and 802.11g, operate in the 2.4 GHz band and top out far below 3.5 Gbps.

Higher-throughput Wi‑Fi relies on using wider channels in a band with less congestion. 802.11ac is designed to operate exclusively in the 5 GHz band and achieves its high speeds by using much wider channel widths (up to 160 MHz) and features like multi-user MIMO. These design choices let it reach theoretical data rates around 3.5 Gbps under ideal conditions, which is why this standard is associated with that speed and with 5 GHz-only operation.

The other options don’t fit as well: 802.11ax (Wi‑Fi 6) uses both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and has newer bands with 6 GHz in Wi‑Fi 6E, offering improvements across both bands. The earlier standards, 802.11b and 802.11g, operate in the 2.4 GHz band and top out far below 3.5 Gbps.