1.3.19

WiFi Frequency and Channels

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WiFi Frequency and Channels

Radio wave communications are subject to interference if another transmitter is transmitting at a similar frequency. We try to split the frequencies into bands and channels to avoid this interference.

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Frequency bands

  • Most WiFi standards transmit data using radio waves in one of two frequency bands:
    • 2.4 GHz.
    • 5 GHz.
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Frequency channels - 2.4GHz band

  • To maximise the amount of data we can send, we subdivide the frequency bands into smaller channels.
  • There are 13 channels in the 2.4 GHz frequency band.
  • Only three of these channels do not interfere with each other.
    • This means that the 2.4 GHz range is not effective at supporting many networks.
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Frequency channels - 5GHz band

  • There are 24 non-overlapping channels in the 5 GHz band.
    • This makes the 5 GHz band much more effective for supporting a high number of networks.

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1Computer Systems

1.1Systems Architecture

1.2Memory & Storage

1.3Computer Networks, Connections & Protocols

1.4Network Security

1.5Systems Software

1.6Ethical, Legal, Cultural & Environmental Concern

2Computational Thinking, Algorithms and Programming

2.1Algorithms

2.2Programming Fundamentals

2.3Producing Robust Programs

2.4Boolean Logic

2.5Programming Languages & IDEs

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