Gigabit Wi-Fi

by William Stallings

ust as businesses and home users have generated a need to

extend the Ethernet standard to speeds in the gigabit-per-second
(Gbps) range, the same requirement exists for the wireless
network technology known as Wi-Fi. Accordingly, IEEE 802.11,
the committee responsible for wireless LAN standards, has recently
introduced two new standards[1], 802.11ac[2] and 802.11ad[3, 4], which
provide for Wi-Fi networks that operate at well in excess of 1 Gbps.
These two new standards build on previous work by the IEEE 802.11
committee, which has introduced numerous versions of the wireless
LAN standard over the years (Table 1).
Table 1: IEEE 802.11 Physical Layer Standards
Standard

802.11a

802.11b

802.11g

802.11n

802.11ac

802.11ad

Year introduced

1999

1999

2003

2000

2012

2014

Maximum datatransfer speed

54 Mbps

11 Mbps

54 Mbps

65 to 600 Mbps

78 Mbps to
3.2 Gbps

6.76 Gbps

Frequency band

5 GHz

2.4 GHz

2.4 GHz

2.4 or 5 GHz

5 GHz

60 GHz

20 MHz

20 MHz

20 MHz

20, 40 MHz

40, 80, 160 MHz

2160 MHz

1 1 SISO

1 1 SISO

1 1 SISO

Up to 4 4
MIMO

Up to 8 8 MIMO,
MU-MIMO

1 1 SISO

Channel
bandwidth
Antenna
configuration

The evolution of Wi-Fi from the Mbps range to the Gbps range has
required the use of three key technologies to enable the higher data
rate: Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation (QAM). In this article, we first introduce
each of these technologies, with a brief mention of their evolution
from simpler technologies, and then look at the two new Gigabit
Wi-Fi standards.
MIMO Antennas

In traditional two-way communication between two wireless stations,

each station employs a single antenna for transmission and reception,
referred to as Single-Input, Single-Output (SISO). In any wireless
communication system, there are numerous forms of transmission
impairments to deal with, and these impairments become increasingly
significant at higher data rates. Of particular concern are noise and
multipath effects. The latter term refers to the fact that a transmitted
signal may reach a destination antenna by not just a direct path but
by one or more paths that involve a reflection between source and
destination.

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These multiple arriving paths interfere with each other and make
recovery of the data from the signal more challenging. One effective
approach is to use multiple antennas, either at the transmitting end
or the receiving end, or both.
In a MIMO scheme, the transmitter and receiver employ multiple
antennas[5]. The source data stream is divided into n substreams, one
for each of the n transmitting antennas. The individual substreams
are the input to the transmitting antennas (multiple inputs). At the
receiving end, m antennas receive the transmissions from the n source
antennas via a combination of line-of-sight transmission and multipath caused by reflection (Figure 1). The output signals from all of
the m receiving antennas (multiple outputs) are combined. With a lot
of complex math, the result is a much better received signal than can
be achieved with either a single antenna or multiple frequency channels. Note that the terms input and output refer to the input to the
transmission channel and the output from the transmission channel,
respectively.
Figure 1: MIMO Scheme
Antenna

Reflecting
Physical Object

Transmitter

MIMO
Signal Processing

Receiver

MIMO
Signal Processing

MIMO systems are characterized by the number of antennas at

each end of the wireless channel. Thus an 8 4 MIMO system has
8 antennas at one end of the channel and 4 at the other end. In
configurations with a base station, such as a cellular network or a Wi-Fi
hotspot, the first number typically refers to the number of antennas
at the base station. There are two types of MIMO transmission
schemes:
Spatial diversity: The same data is coded and transmitted through
multiple antennas, effectively increasing the power in the channel
proportional to the number of transmitting antennas. This process
improves the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for cell edge performance. Further, diverse multipath fading offers multiple views
of the transmitted data at the receiver, thus increasing robustness. In a multipath scenario where each receiving antenna would
experience a different interference environment, there is a high
probability that if one antenna is suffering a high level of fading,
another antenna has sufficient signal level.
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Gigabit Wi-Fi continued

Spatial multiplexing: A source data stream is divided among the

transmitting antennas. The gain in channel capacity is proportional
to the available number of antennas at the transmitter or
receiver, whichever is less. Spatial multiplexing can be used when
transmitting conditions are favorable and for relatively short
distances compared to spatial diversity. The receiver must do
considerable signal processing to sort out the incoming substreams,
all of which are transmitting in the same frequency channel, and to
recover the individual data streams.
Multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) extends the basic MIMO concept
to multiple endpoints, each with multiple antennas. The advantage
of MU-MIMO compared to single-user MIMO is that the available
capacity can be shared to meet time-varying demands. MU-MIMO
techniques are used in both Wi-Fi and Fourth-Generation (4G)
cellular networks.
MU-MIMO has two applications:
UplinkMultiple Access Channel (MAC): Multiple end users
transmit simultaneously to a single base station.
DownlinkBroadcast Channel (BC): The base station transmits
separate data streams to multiple independent users.
MIMO-MAC is used on the uplink channel to provide multiple
access to subscriber stations. In general, MIMO-MAC systems
outperform point-to-point MIMO, particularly if the number of
receiver antennas is greater than the number of transmit antennas
at each user. A variety of multiuser detection techniques are used to
separate the signals transmitted by the users.
MIMO-BC is used on the downlink channel to enable the base station to transmit different data streams to multiple users over the
same frequency band. MIMO-BC is more challenging to implement.
The techniques employed involve processing of the data symbols at
the transmitter to minimize interuser interference.
OFDM, OFDMA, and SC-FDMA

The technologies discussed in this section all derive from one

of the oldest techniques used in communications: FrequencyDivision Multiplexing (FDM). FDM simply means the division of a
transmission facility into multiple channels by splitting the frequency
band transmitted by the facility into narrower bands, each of which
is used to constitute a distinct channel. Common examples of FDM
are cable TV, broadcast radio, and broadcast television.
A common application of FDM is Frequency-Division Multiple
Access (FDMA), which is a technique used to share the spectrum
among multiple stations. In a typical configuration, a base station
communicates with numerous subscriber stations.

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Such a configuration is found in satellite networks, cellular networks,

Wi-Fi, and WiMAX. Typically, the base station assigns bandwidths
to stations within the overall bandwidth available. Key features of
FDMA include the following:
Each channel is dedicated to a single station; it is not shared.
If a channel is not in use, it is idle and the capacity is wasted.
Individual channels must be separated by guard bands to minimize
interference.
Thus, this scheme divides the available bandwidth into multiple
nonoverlapping bands, or channels, as with FDM. The channels are
allocated across multiple stations, thus allowing multiple access to
the available bandwidth.
Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM), also called
multicarrier modulation, is a form of FDM in which a single data
stream transmits over the available bandwidth, sending some of
the bits on each channel. Thus, with OFDM, all of the channels are
dedicated to a single data source.
Suppose we have a data stream operating at R bps and an available
bandwidth of NB, centered at f. The entire bandwidth could be used
to send the data stream, in which case each bit duration would be
1/R. The alternative is to split the data stream into N substreams,
using a serial-to-parallel converter. Each substream has a data rate
of R/N bps and is transmitted on a separate subcarrier, with spacing
between adjacent subcarriers of B. Now the bit duration is N/R.
The OFDM scheme uses advanced digital-signal-processing techniques to distribute the data over multiple carriers at precise
frequencies. The relationship among the subcarriers is referred to
as orthogonality. The result is that the peaks of the power spectral
density of each subcarrier occur at a point at which the power of
other subcarriers is zero. With OFDM, the subcarriers can be packed
tightly together because there is minimal interference between
adjacent subcarriers.
OFDM has several advantages. First, frequency selective fading
affects only some subcarriers and not the whole signal. If the data
stream is protected by a forward error-correcting code, this type
of fading is easily handled. More important, OFDM overcomes
Intersymbol Interference (ISI) in a multipath environment. ISI has a
greater impact at higher bit rates, because the distance between bits,
or symbols, is smaller. With OFDM, the data rate is reduced by a
factor of N, increasing the symbol time by a factor of N. Thus, if the
symbol period is T for the source stream, the period for the OFDM
signals is NT. This modulation scheme dramatically reduces the effect
of ISI. As a design criterion, N is chosen so that NT is significantly
greater than the root-mean-square delay spread of the channel.

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Gigabit Wi-Fi continued

A variant of OFDM is Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple

Access (OFDMA). Like OFDM, OFDMA employs multiple closely
spaced subcarriers, but the subcarriers are divided into groups of
subcarriers. Each group is named a subchannel. The subcarriers that
form a subchannel need not be adjacent. In the downlink, different
subchannels may be intended for different receivers. In the uplink, a
transmitter may be assigned one or more subchannels.
Subchannelization defines subchannels that can be allocated to
Subscriber Stations (SSs) depending on their channel conditions and
data requirements. Using subchannelization, within the same time
slot a Base Station (BS) can allocate more transmit power to user
devices (SSs) with lower SNR, and less power to user devices with
higher SNR. Subchannelization also enables the BS to allocate higher
power to subchannels assigned to indoor SSs, resulting in better
in-building coverage. Subchannels are further grouped into bursts,
which can be allocated to wireless users. Each burst allocation can be
changed from frame to frame as well as within the modulation order,
allowing the base station to dynamically adjust the bandwidth usage
according to the current system requirements.
Subchannelization in the uplink can save user-device transmit power
because it can concentrate power only on certain subchannel(s)
allocated to it. This power-saving feature is particularly useful for
battery-powered user devices.
Another variant of OFDM is Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA),
which is a relatively recently developed multiple access technique
with similar structure and performance to OFDMA. One prominent
advantage of SC-FDMA over OFDMA is the lower Peak-to-Average
Power Ratio (PAPR) of the transmit waveform, which benefits the
mobile user in terms of battery life and power efficiency. OFDMA
signals have a higher PAPR because, in the time domain, a multicarrier
signal is the sum of many narrowband signals. At some time instances,
this sum is large and at other times small, meaning that the peak
value of the signal is substantially larger than the average value.
Thus, SC-FDMA is superior to OFDMA. However, it is restricted
to uplink use because the increased time-domain processing of
SC-FDMA would entail considerable burden on the base station.
SC-FDMA performs a complex digital-signal-processing operation,
which spreads the data symbols over all the subcarriers carrying
information and produces a virtual single-carrier structure. This
structure then is passed through the OFDM processing modules to
split the signal into subcarriers. Now, however, every data symbol is
carried by every subcarrier.

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For OFDM, a source data stream is divided into N separate data

streams and these streams are modulated and transmitted in parallel
on N separate subcarriers, each with bandwidth B. The source data
stream has a data rate of R bps, and the data rate on each subcarrier
is R/N bps. For SC-FDMA, it appears that the source data stream is
modulated on a single carrier (hence the SC prefix to the name) of
bandwidth N x B and transmitted at a data rate of R bps. The data
is transmitted at a higher rate, but over a wider bandwidth compared
to the data rate on a single subcarrier of OFDM. However, because of
the complex signal processing of SC-FDMA, the preceding description is not accurate. In effect, the source data stream is replicated N
times, and each copy of the data stream is independently modulated
and transmitted on a subcarrier, with a data rate on each subcarrier of
R bps. Compared with OFDM, we are transmitting at a much higher
data rate on each subcarrier, but because we are sending the same
data stream on each subcarrier, it is still possible to reliably recover
the original data stream at the receiver.
A final observation concerns the term multiple access. With OFDMA,
it is possible to simultaneously transmit either from or to different
users by allocating the subcarriers during any one time interval to
multiple users. This transmission is not possible with SC-FDMA:
At any given point in time, all of the subcarriers are carrying the
identical data stream and hence must be dedicated to one user. But
over time, it is possible to provide multiple access by allocating the
bandwidth to different users at different times.
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

To transmit digital data over an analog signal, such as a Wi-Fi radio

signal, it is necessary to encode the data onto the signal by some form
of modulation. The simplest approach is to provide two different
signals to be transmitted during a bit time, with one signal element
representing binary one and one representing binary zero. Thus,
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) involves transmitting a constantfrequency signal but varying the signal amplitude between two values.
With Phase Shift Keying (PSK), two different phase shifts of the same
carrier frequency are used to represent the two binary digits. As the
data rate increases, the length of each signal element representing
a single bit shortens. That is, the signal element is shorter both in
duration and in physical length while being transmitted. Thus, a
short noise burst or a short transmission impairment of any sort
affects more bits as the data rate increases. One standard way of
coping with this problem is to encode more than a single bit in each
signal element. For example, if four amplitudes are used instead of
two, then each signal element can encode two bits. One of the most
effective techniques for encoding multiple bits per signal element is
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).

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Gigabit Wi-Fi continued

QAM uses two basic principles for encoding digital data onto an
analog signal: ASK and PSK. QAM takes advantage of the fact that
it is possible to send two different signals simultaneously on the same
carrier frequency by using two copies of the carrier frequency, one
shifted by 90 with respect to the other. For QAM, each carrier is
ASK modulated. The two independent signals are simultaneously
transmitted over the same medium. At the receiver, the two signals
are demodulated and the results are combined to produce the original
binary input.
If two-level ASK is used, then each of the two streams can be in
one of two states and the combined stream can be in one of
4 = 2 2 states. If four-level ASK is used (that is, four different
amplitude levels), then the combined stream can be in one of
16 = 4 4 states. This modulation is known as 16-QAM. Systems
using 64 (64-QAM) and even 256 states have been implemented. The
greater the number of states, the higher the data rate that is possible
within a given bandwidth. However, the greater the number of
states, the higher the potential error rate due to noise and attenuation.
IEEE 802.11ac

IEEE 802.11ac operates in the 5-GHz band, as do the older and

slower standards 802.11a and 802.11n. It is designed to provide a
smooth evolution from 802.11n. This new standard uses advanced
technologies in antenna design and signal processing to achieve
much greater data rates, at lower battery consumption, all within
the same frequency band as the older versions of Wi-Fi. The new
standard achieves much higher data rates than 802.11n by means of
enhancements in three areas:
Bandwidth: The maximum bandwidth of 802.11n is 40 MHz; the
maximum bandwidth of 802.11ac is 160 MHz.
Signal encoding: The 802.11n standard uses 64 QAM with OFDM,
and 802.11ac uses 256 QAM with OFDM. Thus, more bits are
encoded per symbol. Both schemes use forward error correction
with a code rate of 5/6 (ratio of data bits to total bits).
MIMO: With 802.11n, the maximum number of antennas is 4
channel input and 4 channel output antennas. The 802.11ac
standard increases this maximum to 8 8.
Two other changes going from 802.11n to 802.11ac are noteworthy.
The 802.11ac standard includes the option of MU-MIMO, meaning
that on the downlink, the transmitter can use its antenna resources
to transmit multiple frames to different stations, all at the same
time and over the same frequency spectrum. Thus, each antenna of
a MU-MIMO access point can simultaneously communicate with
a different single-antenna device, such as a smartphone or tablet,
thereby enabling the access point to deliver significantly more data in
many environments.

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IEEE 802.11ad

IEEE 802.11ad is a version of 802.11 operating in the 60-GHz

frequency band. This band offers the potential for much wider channel
bandwidth than the 5-GHz band, enabling high data rates with
relatively simple signal encoding and antenna characteristics. Few
devices operate in the 60-GHz band, meaning that communication
experiences less interference than in the other bands used for Wi-Fi.
However, at 60 GHz, 802.11ad operates in the millimeter range,
resulting in some undesirable propagation characteristics:
Free space loss increases with the square of the frequency, so losses
are much higher in this range than in the ranges used for traditional
microwave systems.
Multipath losses can be quite high. Reflection occurs when an
electromagnetic signal encounters a surface that is large relative
to the wavelength of the signal; scattering occurs if the size of an
obstacle is on the order of the wavelength of the signal or less; and
diffraction occurs when the wavefront encounters the edge of an
obstacle that is large compared to the wavelength.
Millimeter-wave signals generally dont penetrate solid objects.
For these reasons, 802.11ad is likely to be useful only within a single
room. Because it can support high data rates and, for example, could
easily transmit uncompressed high-definition video, it is suitable
for applications such as replacing wires in a home entertainment
system, or streaming high-definition movies from your cell phone to
your television.
Prospects for Gigabit Wi-Fi

Gigabit Wi-Fi holds attractions for both office and residential environments, and commercial products are beginning to roll out. In
the office environment, the demand for ever greater data rates has
led to Ethernet offerings at 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and most recently
100 Gbps. These stupendous capacities are needed to support blade
servers, heavy reliance on video and multimedia, and multiple offsite
broadband connections. At the same time, the use of wireless LANs
has grown dramatically in the office setting to meet needs for mobility and flexibility. With the gigabit-range data rates available on the
fixed portion of the office LAN, gigabit Wi-Fi is needed to enable
mobile users to use the office resources effectively. IEEE 802.11ac is
likely to be the preferred gigabit Wi-Fi option for this environment.
In the consumer and residential market, IEEE 802.11ad is likely to be
popular as a low-power, short-distance wireless LAN capability with
little likelihood of interfering with other devices. IEEE 802.11ad is
also an attractive option in professional media production environments in which massive amounts of data need to be moved short
distances.

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Gigabit Wi-Fi continued

References

[1] Garber, L., Wi-Fi Races into a Faster Future, Computer,

March 2012.
[2] Alsabbagh, E.; Yu, H.; and Gallagher, K., 802.11ac Design
Consideration for Mobile Devices, Microwave Journal,
February 2013.
[3] Cordeiro, C.; Akhmetov, D.; and Park, M., IEEE 802.11ad:
Introduction and Performance Evaluation of the First MultiGbps WiFi Technology, Proceedings of the 2010 ACM
International Workshop on mmWave Communications: From
Circuits to Networks, 2010.
[4] Perahia, E., et al., IEEE 802.11ad: Defining the Next Generation Multi-Gbps Wi-Fi, Proceedings, 7th IEEE Consumer
Communications and Networking Conference, 2010.
[5] Halperin, D., et al., 802.11 with Multiple Antennas for
Dummies, Computer Communication Review, January 2010.
[6] Danielyan, E., IEEE 802.11, The Internet Protocol Journal,
Volume 5, No. 1, March 2002.
[7] Sridhar, T., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and WiMAXTechnology and
Implementation, The Internet Protocol Journal, Volume 11,
No.4, December 2008.

WILLIAM STALLINGS is an independent consultant and author of numerous

books about security, computer networking, and computer architecture. His latest
book is Data and Computer Communications (Pearson, 2014). He maintains
a computer science resource site for computer science students and professionals
at ComputerScienceStudent.com. He has a Ph.D. in computer science from
M.I.T. He can be reached at ws@shore.net

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