IEEE 802.11 is a set of
media access control (MAC) and
physical layer (PHY) specifications for implementing
wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication in the 900 MHz and 2.4,
3.6, 5, and
60 GHz frequency bands. They are created and maintained by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
LAN/
MAN Standards Committee (
IEEE 802). The base version of the standard was released in 1997, and has had subsequent amendments. The standard and amendments provide the basis for wireless network products using the
Wi-Fi brand. While each amendment is officially revoked when it is incorporated in the latest version of the standard, the corporate world tends to market to the revisions because they concisely denote capabilities of their products. As a result, in the market place, each revision tends to become its own standard.