Wireless LAN Standards - Regulatory Bodies!

Wireless LAN Standards - Regulatory Bodies!

In this article we are going to cover what are the various bodies involves in defining the Wireless LAN Standards. This information is useful if you want to make a strong foundation in WLAN technology.

These regulatory bodies are responsible for defining standards on RF technologies and how to use them in a Wireless LAN environment.

You can broadly categories these regulatory bodies into groups –

Regulatory bodies responsible for defining the Wi-Fi standards related to WLAN Control and Provisioning. For example, the IETF is an International Internet standards organization, responsible for Wi-Fi Standards related to WLAN control & Provisioning.


Regulatory bodies responsible for RF regulations. RF regulations are not same globally therefore local RF regulations are there. These local RF regulators main concern is on minimizing the RF interference – they regulate RF powers and usable WLAN frequencies. Some of the example of local RF regulators are FCC – that regulates RF in US, ETSI regulates the Europe.

Regulatory bodies responsible for WLAN Standards. Define how layer 1 and layer 2 of the OSI functions will be implemented in a Wireless LAN environment. IEEE is responsible for defining such standards. IEEE developed the 802.11 standard for wireless. This standard exists in FCC unlicensed space. Therefore, the FCC also contributes to defining the power regulations in Wireless networks. IEEE 802.11 standards for Wireless define how to use various channels, layer 1 transmission methods and layer 2 frame types and protocols.

Finally there comes the bodies that defines standards to ensure that different wireless products from different OEMs work in a Wireless network. For this we have Wi-Fi alliance. Wi-Fi Alliance is the group of WLAN hardware and software manufacturers. This alliance’s focus is on interoperability ensuring different OEM’s APs and clients can work together. Their focus largely is on the QoS and the security features.


Hope you find this article informative.