The chaos of names for the various Wi-Fi standards, which has become almost impossible for users to understand, is coming to an end. At its most recent meeting, the Wi-Fi Alliance, which is supported by almost all international manufacturers, finally decided on a new nomenclature. This divides the WLAN standards into different generations based on significant technological advances in a simple and comprehensible way for everyone:

'WLAN 802.11n' now becomes 'WLAN 4' (alternatively 'Wi-Fi 4') and 'WLAN 802.11ac' becomes 'WLAN 5'. The new standard 'WLAN 802.11ax', whose final specifications are to be finalized at the beginning of next year, will then be called 'WLAN 6'.

Even consumers with little technical knowledge will be able to see at a glance with these new designations whether their device already supports the latest WLAN standard. The same applies to the transmission speeds. Until now, it was not possible to logically explain from the name alone why 'ac' is faster than 'n', but in future this will be immediately apparent from the higher generation number. This will also make it easier for retailers to market new devices. After all, Wi-Fi has evolved in recent years from an additional offering as a secondary network in companies to a mainstay of today's mobility and, thanks to new devices such as smartphones, has even replaced Ethernet as the primary connection method in many places.

"For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sift through technocratic naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi," said Edgar Figueroa, President and CEO of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "The Wi-Fi Alliance is pleased to introduce 'Wi-Fi 6' and unveil a new naming scheme that will help the industry and users easily understand the generation of Wi-Fi supported by their device or connection. Although the new names will only be officially introduced together with 'Wi-Fi 6', the industry can use them immediately. Only in technical documents will the previously used designations continue to appear.