Is 802.11ac Worth It? Here are Some Videos to Help You Decide

802.11ac has Wave 1 has been around since 2009 and and Wave 2 was introduced in 2013 and is the first version of Wi-Fi that can actually outperform wired internet. Upgrading a wireless network is nothing to take lightly whether you’re a small business or an enterprise. It’s important to know exactly what 802.11ac offers, and how you can go about making the decision. With the growth of mobile devices in the workplace, having gigabit, wired 802.11n for PCs and mediocre Wi-Fi just might not cut it anymore. These videos focus on different points that can help you decide if 802.11ac is the right fit for you.

This first video, as titled, explains the fundamentals of 802.11ac and how it works vs other legacy Wi-Fi standards. It focuses on the benefit of MU-MIMO vs SU-MIMO and how it can really make a difference when it comes to mobile devices.

This next video compares the top speeds of 802.11ac vs 802.11n and the amount of people who can connect per access point. While 802.11n may be ok for at home when you only have a few people accessing the router at once, 802.11ac can drastically improve the experience for people in a dense office environment with both mobile and stationary devices.

If you’re looking for a more in-depth look into 802.11ac Wave 2, this presentation by Aruba Networks goes into details about what AC offers and gives deployment and planning recommendations based on timing and environment.

If you’re looking for more information on beamforming this video goes into knowledgeable, but brief detail on the technology. Beamforming is completely unique to 802.11ac and can sometimes be a little hard to understand and the images along with the commentary in this video breaks it down so you can understand and decide if it’s something that could be useful in your business.