Since the Wi-Fi 5 standard, including the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, some routers, access points, and Wi-Fi cards support 160Mhz of channel width on the 5GHz band . By default, the Wi-Fi 5 standard uses 80MHz of channel width , however, by having twice the channel width (160MHz) we will achieve twice the real speed with the same number of antennas. Today we are going to explain the maximum speeds that we will achieve with 80MHz of channel width and 160MHz depending on the number of antennas
Using 160MHz of channel width in routers and access points is very important if we want to achieve speeds of 1000Mbps real or higher, that is, with this channel width we can achieve speeds above the Gigabit Ethernet standard that we all know, but we will only achieve it in the 5GHz band since we will have a large number of channels available. With a router and a WiFi 6 card that have support for 160MHz, we can easily exceed the speed of the Gigabit Ethernet interface as you will see below.
Channels available to use 160MHz channel width
In this article we have previously talked about the channels available in the 5GHz band, specifically we have the UNII-1 that are 36, 40, 44 and 48. We also have the UNII-2 that are DFS channels, and they are 52, 56 , 60 and 64, finally, we have the Extended UNII-2 channels, which go from channel 100 to channel 144.
Thanks to the possibility of configuring all these channels in our Wi-Fi router, we have a total of 5 channels available if we use 80MHz of channel width, and only two channels available if we use a channel width of 160MHz, since we will occupy all the spectrum available.
When we configure our wireless router or Wi-Fi access point with 160MHz channel width, we can select a control channel, but the channel width extends throughout the spectrum included in the UNII-1 and UNII-2, and also throughout the UNII-2 Extended, as you can see in the previous graphic.
Speed that we will achieve using 160MHz of channel width
In order to determine the theoretical speed that we will achieve with 160MHz of channel width, we must first take into account two very important factors:
- Quadrature amplitude modulation used (256QAM or 1024QAM) in the 5GHz band
- The number of antennas and MIMO data streams in the 5GHz band.
Although by default with the Wi-Fi 5 standard 256QAM of quadrature amplitude modulation is used, there are routers that have “NitroQAM” activated, this allows using 1024QAM to have up to 25% more theoretical speed. We must remember that all the speeds we will talk about are theoretical, the real speeds will be approximately half. With the Wi-Fi 6 standard we will always have a maximum of 1024QAM, but the 160MHz channel width is optional according to the Wi-Fi Alliance standard, so before buying a router with Wi-Fi 6 or a WiFi card, we must pay attention to this aspect.
Speeds with Wi-Fi 5
Speeds that we will achieve with WiFi 5, 256QAM and 80MHz of channel width in 5GHz
- An antenna or a MIMO data stream: 433Mbps
- Two antennas or two MIMO data streams: 867Mbps
- Three antennas or three MIMO data streams: 1,300Mbps
- Four antennas or four MIMO data streams: 1,733Mbps
Speeds that we will achieve with WiFi 5, 256QAM and 160MHz of channel width in 5GHz
- An antenna or MIMO data stream: 867Mbps
- Two antennas or two MIMO data streams: 1,733Mbps
- Three antennas or three MIMO data streams: 2,600Mbps
- Four antennas or four MIMO data streams: 3.466Mbps
As you can see, the performance that we will obtain (theoretical) is double that if we use 80MHz of channel width, and this can be seen perfectly with smartphones compatible with this 160MHz channel width, such as our Huawei P30.
This model has two internal antennas, and is compatible with 160MHz of channel width, so when we are close to the router its synchronization is 1,733Mbps, and the real speed is around 800Mbps real speed.
Speeds that we will achieve with WiFi 5, 1024QAM and 80MHz of channel width in 5GHz
- An antenna or a MIMO data stream: 541Mbps
- Two antennas or two MIMO data streams: 1.083Mbps
- Three antennas or three MIMO data streams: 1.624Mbps
- Four antennas or four MIMO data streams: 2.167Mbps
Speeds that we will achieve with WiFi 5, 1024QAM and 160MHz of channel width in 5GHz
- An antenna or a MIMO data stream: 1.083Mbps
- Two antennas or two MIMO data streams: 2.167Mbps
- Three antennas or three MIMO data streams: 3.248Mbps
- Four antennas or four MIMO data streams: 4.334Mbps
Speeds with Wi-Fi 6
Speeds that we will achieve with WiFi 6, 1024QAM and 80MHz of channel width in 5GHz
- An antenna or a MIMO data stream: 600Mbps
- Two antennas or two MIMO data streams: 1,201Mbps
- Three antennas or three MIMO data streams: 1,800Mbps
- Four antennas or four MIMO data streams: 2.402Mbps
Speeds that we will achieve with WiFi 5, 1024QAM and 160MHz of channel width in 5GHz
- An antenna or a MIMO data stream: 1,201Mbps
- Two antennas or two MIMO data streams: 2.402Mbps
- Three antennas or three MIMO data streams: 3.603Mbps
- Four antennas or four MIMO data streams: 4.804Mbps
For example, if we use the ASUS RT-AX86U router and the Intel AX200 Wi-Fi card, the sync speed is as follows:
Although the router is a 4 × 4 MU-MIMO, the card is only 2 × 2 MU-MIMO, so the synchronization speed is 2.4Gbps as you can see in the previous capture (Two antennas or two data streams MIMO: 2.402Mbps).
Conclusions: 80MHz or 160MHz?
If we have the option of having a Wi-Fi wireless router and a card compatible with 160MHz channel width, regardless of whether it is Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6, we will achieve twice the theoretical speed, and also twice the speed real. It is very important that our router incorporates this 160MHz function in the 5GHz band, a clear example of this is the ASUS RT-AX56U (which does not have 160MHz) and the ASUS RT-AX58U (which does have 160MHz), and both have very similar hardware. We must pay close attention to the maximum speed via Wi-Fi provided by the routers to determine whether or not it is compatible with this channel width.
It is also very important that our client wireless network card supports 160MHz, as we have seen with the Huawei P30, and also with the Intel AX200 that we have used in our tests. If it’s not supported, it will only use 80MHz of channel width, and we will get half the speed.
If your computer has an old card and is not compatible with Wi-Fi 6 or 160MHz, a highly recommended internal card for a laptop is the Intel AX200 that we can find in stores for approximately 30 euros.
Therefore, and answering the question of 80MHz or 160MHz? The answer is clear, 160MHz because when we are close to the router we will achieve wireless speeds of over 1000Mbps without many problems.
