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802.11ac: Better Coverage, But Won't Hit Advertised Speeds

Posted by Soulskill on from the are-you-implying-marketers-would-lie-to-us?!? dept.

New submitter jcenters writes "Apple's new AirPort routers feature the new 802.11ac protocol, promising Wi-Fi speeds in excess of 1 Gbps, but Glenn Fleishman of TidBITS explains why we are unlikely to see such speeds any time soon. Quoting: 'When Apple says that its implementation of 802.11ac can achieve up to 1.3 Gbps — and other manufacturers with beefier radio systems already say up to 1.7 Gbps — the reality is that a lot of conditions have to be met to achieve that raw data rate. And, as you well know from decades of network-technology advertising, dear reader, a “raw” data rate (often incorrectly called “theoretical”) is the maximum number of bits that can pass over a network. That includes all the network overhead as well as actual data carried in packets and frames. The net throughput is often 30 to 60 percent lower.'"

4 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Simple solution by ArcadeMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Use ethernet. Cables don't have these kinds of problems. I just wish somebody made lighter ethernet cables though, my iPhone cable backpack is killing me.

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    1. Re:Simple solution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Gigabit ethernet doesn't have a practical throughput of 1 Gb either.

      Yes it does, I've never seen any problems with pushing 1gig either at home or at work.
      Perhaps you're having problems with the backplane capacity of your router, or issues with your NIC or computer. But it's not the connection between the ports at fault, unless you've got the cable wound around a source of powerful RF emissions.

  2. Re:wasteful on spectrum by phizi0n · · Score: 5, Informative

    5GHz doesn't penetrate well so you won't get much interference from neighbors except maybe in very small apartments, the real problem is other devices within your home that use 5GHz such as cordless phones.

  3. Re:wasteful on spectrum by SJHillman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My apartment is in a cellular dead spot. My landline only has two ports... one in the kitchen and one in the master bedroom. It would really suck if I couldn't use the phone in the living, garage, basement or office without having a long-ass cord getting tangled on everything. So maybe cordless phones do have a purpose after all.