80211g - 802.11g was the third modulation standard for Wireless LAN. It works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b) but operates at a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, or about 19 Mbit/s net throughput (identical to 802.11a core, except for some additional legacy overhead for backward compatibility). 802.11g hardware is fully backwards compatible with 802.11b hardware. Details of making b and g work well together occupied much of the lingering technical process. In an 11g network, however, the presence of a legacy 802.11b participant will significantly reduce the speed of the overall 802.11g network.

The modulation scheme used in 802.11g is orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) copied from 802.11a with data rates of 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbit/s, and reverts to CCK (like the 802.11b standard) for 5.5 and 11 Mbit/s and DBPSK/DQPSK+DSSS for 1 and 2 Mbit/s. Even though 802.11g operates in the same frequency band as 802.11b, it can achieve higher data rates because of its heritage to 802.11a.

The then-proposed 802.11g standard was rapidly adopted by consumers starting in January 2003, well before ratification, due to the desire for higher speeds, and reductions in manufacturing costs. By summer 2003, most dual-band 802.11a/b products became dual-band/tri-mode, supporting a and b/g in a single mobile adapter card or access point.

Despite its major acceptance, 802.11g suffers from the same interference as 802.11b in the already crowded 2.4 GHz range. Devices operating in this range include: microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors and (in the USA) digital cordless telephones which can lead to interference issues. Additionally the success of the standard has caused usage/density problems related to crowding in urban areas. This crowding can cause a dissatisfied user experience as the number of non-overlapping usable channels is only 3 in FCC nations (ch 1, 6, 11) or 4 in European nations (ch 1, 5, 9, 13).

Wireless Network, Wireless Lan, 802.11g, Wireless bridge

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