Description:
The IEEE's 802.11g standard is designed as a higher-bandwidth - 54M bit/sec - successor to the popular 802.11b, or Wi-Fi standard, which tops out at 11M bit/sec. An 802.11g access point will support 802.11b and 802.11g clients. Similarly, a laptop with an 802.11g card will be able to access existing 802.11b access points as well as new 802.11g access points.
However, products based on the 802.11g standard won't be available until at least mid-2003. And if you're looking for a higher-speed alternative to 802.11b, 802.11a products are out now and offer top speeds of 54M bit/sec. The main drawback with 802.11a is a lack of interoperability with 802.11b devices as well as 802.11a's network interface cards (NIC) costing 50% more and its access points being priced 35% more than their 802.11b counterparts.
802.11g Performance:
802.11g Wi-Fi supports maximum network bandwidth of 54 Mbps compared to 11 Mbps for 802.11b and 150 Mbps or more for the newer 802.11n Wi-Fi.
802.11g Radio Signaling:
To maintain backward compatibility with older Wi-Fi network equipment, 802.11g uses the same 2.4 GHz range of communication frequencies as 802.11b.
Complete Definition:
A proposed standard, describing a wireless networking method for a WLAN that operates in the 2.4 GHz radio band (ISM—Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band). By using OFDM technology, 802.11g-based WLANs will be able to achieve a maximum speed of 54 Mbps. 802.11g is backward compatible with the 802.11b standard.
