To decide which WiFi standard, between 802.11b or 802.11n, is most beneficial for passing only 10 Mbps, it is important to consider several technical aspects of each standard:

1. Maximum Speed ​​and Performance

• 802.11b: This standard, which is one of the oldest in the 802.11 protocol family, can offer maximum speeds of up to 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. Although in theory this speed could handle 10 Mbps data transmission, in the In practice the effective throughput is much lower due to protocol overhead and interference common in the 2.4 GHz band.
• 802.11n: Introduced much later, this standard can achieve much higher speeds, theoretically up to 600 Mbps under ideal conditions, using multiple data streams (MIMO) and wider channels. It operates on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, helping to reduce interference and increase real-world performance.

2. Efficiency and Reliability

• 802.11b It uses an older, less efficient technology for signal modulation (DSSS), which makes it more susceptible to interference and limits its ability to handle high data transfer rates efficiently.
• 802.11n, on the other hand, uses OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) combined with advanced techniques such as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). This not only allows for higher speeds but also improves spectrum efficiency and signal robustness.

3. Compatibility and Future

• Although 802.11b might be compatible with older equipment, it is less likely to remain useful in the long term due to its limited ability to adapt to increasing data demands and its greater susceptibility to interference.
• 802.11n It is widely compatible with most modern devices and is designed to be more future-proof in terms of performance and compatibility with emerging technologies.

4. Coverage and Quality of Service

• The coverage with 802.11n tends to be better than with 802.11b due to its ability to use the 5 GHz band, which is less prone to interference than the crowded 2.4 GHz band.
• 802.11n It also supports better quality of service (QoS) with technologies such as WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia), which helps prioritize data, voice and video traffic, something that is limited in 802.11b.

Conclusion

For a network that only needs to transmit 10 Mbps, 802.11n is clearly more beneficial than 802.11b. It offers better speed, efficiency, coverage, future compatibility and quality of service.

Although 802.11b could theoretically handle 10 Mbps, limitations in terms of technology and susceptibility to interference make 802.11n a much more robust and adaptable option for any modern network environment.