Wi-Fi 5
Wi-Fi · 10 specs
Direct Answer
Wi-Fi 5 (IEEE 802.11ac) was ratified in 2013, operating exclusively in the 5 GHz band. It introduced 80 MHz and 160 MHz channel bonding, 256-QAM modulation, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) downlink, reaching theoretical maximum data rates up to 6.93 Gbps.
Source: IEEE 802.11ac-2013 / Wi-Fi Alliance · Last reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Specs
| IEEE Standard | IEEE 802.11ac-2013 |
| Wi-Fi Generation | Wi-Fi 5 |
| Ratification Year | 2013 (Wave 1) / 2016 (Wave 2) |
| Frequency Bands | 5 GHz only (2.4 GHz uses 802.11n) |
| Max Channel Width | 160 MHz |
| Max Theoretical PHY Rate | 6.93 Gbps |
| Typical Client PHY Rate (2x2) | 866.7 Mbps |
| Max Spatial Streams (MIMO) | 8x8 (Wave 2) |
| Multi-User MIMO | Downlink Only (DL MU-MIMO in Wave 2) |
| Modulation Standard | 256-QAM |
Wave 1 vs Wave 2 Differences
Wi-Fi 5 was rolled out in two commercial phases. Wave 1 devices (2013) supported up to 80 MHz channels, 3 spatial streams, and single-user MIMO only (max 1.3 Gbps). Wave 2 (2016) introduced 160 MHz channels, 4 spatial streams on client devices, and Downlink Multi-User MIMO (DL MU-MIMO), allowing access points to transmit to multiple clients simultaneously rather than queuing sequentially.
5 GHz Exclusivity
IEEE 802.11ac was defined strictly for the 5 GHz spectrum. All 'dual-band AC' routers continue to run legacy 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) modulation when transmitting on the 2.4 GHz band (though some vendors implemented proprietary non-standard 256-QAM 'TurboQAM' extensions on 2.4 GHz).