Although it may seem like just yesterday that the final specification 802.11n devices started rolling out, there is already another Wi-Fi specification right around the corner, 802.11ac. As of current specifications, 802.11ac provides wireless throughput rates of at least 1Gbps. However, recently announced devices from Netgear promise theoretical rates of 1.3Gbps. All of this is in comparison to 802.11n, which tops out at a maximum throughput of 450Mbps.

802.11ac, in contrast to 802.11n, uses only the 5 GHz band. This is done because the 2.4 GHz band cannot support the bandwidth required for the 802.11ac specification. 2.4 GHz has only three non-overlapping 20 MHz wide channels in its Wi-Fi specification: 1, 6, and 11. 802.11ac’s newfound throughput comes from using 80 MHz channels as opposed to 802.11n’s maximum of 40 MHz (and even that 40 MHz can cause problems on the 2.4 GHz frequency).

The move to the 5 GHz frequency allows for the use of those 80 MHz wide channels to provide the aforementioned throughput rate of 1.3Gbps. There is also the possibility for using 160 MHz wide channels to provide up to 2.6Gbps throughput rate. However, it remains to be seen if using channels that wide will come with some of the same limitations of using the 40 MHz wide ones with 802.11n.

The benefits of faster throughputs don’t just stop at being able to transfer large files quickly across your wireless network or streaming heavy HD content to devices because let’s face it, if that were the case, most people would be content with their current 802.11n setups. Allowing more bandwidth means that there will be less interference overall resulting in more effective coverage and less dead zones.

Netgear is also including a technology called “Beamforming” with their draft 802.11ac device. Beamforming simply means that instead of the wireless signal transmitting in an omnidirectional pattern at all times, it will intelligently direct the signal toward a device.

As was stated earlier, Netgear is preparing to launch the first 802.11ac wireless router in the second half of 2012. The good news? It will be backward compatible with 802.11n at the 5 GHz band. The bad news? There are no receiving devices on the market yet meaning you won’t be able to take advantage of that new speed until there are devices such as phones, etc. that have the new 802.11ac chipset inside. The retail price of Netgear’s new device is set at $199.99.

Keep in mind though that early 802.11n draft devices were not compatible with the final specification. I know many people that got burnt buying pre-draft 802.11n devices because they thought that they could be upgraded when the final specification came out. Just something to keep in mind.

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