Comparison of IEEE 802.11ah and 802.11ax WLANs

The report discusses and compares between two different papers on the topic of wireless LAN. The report mentions the primary descriptions of each paper along with the different technologies and methodologies used by those two papers. The standards described in the two papers are the 802.11ah and the 802.11ax. The report also states the advantages and disadvantages of the two chosen papers along with their comparison. The result of both the papers are also briefly described in this report. The report concludes by summarising the main points of the papers and suggesting recommendations.

Running head: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Executive Summary
The report discusses and compares between two different papers on the topic of wireless
LAN. The report mentions the primary descriptions of each paper along with the different
technologies and methodologies used by those two papers. The standards described in the two
papers are the 802.11ah and the 802.11ax. The report also states the advantages and
disadvantages of the two chosen papers along with their comparison. The result of both the
papers are also briefly described in this report. The report concludes by summarising the
main points of the papers and suggesting recommendations.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Introduction to the selected papers.........................................................................................3
Methodologies........................................................................................................................3
Result comparison..................................................................................................................4
Advantages and Disadvantages of the two papers.................................................................4
Recommendations..................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Wireless LAN or WLAN is a device that is used to distribute high frequency radio
waves and includes a connection to an access point to connect to the internet. This allows the
user using the WLAN to use high speed internet along with greater mobility. It has a wider
coverage area and can be used in offices or homes. The most commonly used type of WLAN
is 802.11 family which includes different types like 802.11 a/c/b/g/n/ax and ah. In this report
the 802.11 ax and 802.11 ah wlans will be discussed based on two individual research papers.
The two research paper selected for this report are ‘’IEEE 802.11ax: High-Efficiency
WLANs’’ by Boris Bellalta and ‘’ Outdoor Long-Range WLANs: A Lesson for IEEE
802.11ah’’ by Stefan Aust, Member, IEEE, R. Venkatesha Prasad, Senior Member, IEEE,
and Ignas G. M. M. Niemegeers.
Discussion
Introduction to the selected papers
The first paper taken highlights the efficiency and usage of long distance WLAN
802.11ah. The 802.11ah is works in the under 1GHz band and is able to send signal to
multiple kilometres away using frequencies in the range of 900 MHz This paper discusses the
improvements and disadvantages of the 802.11ah WLAN. The paper highlights the issues in
the physical and the MAC layer of this WLAN.
The second paper discusses the high output WLAN 802.11ax and its advantages and
disadvantages. The paper mentions the use of a combination of spatial multiplexing and
channel bonding along with multiple antennas to increase throughput of the standard. The
paper also highlights the improvements needed in the next generation WLAN’s PHY or
MAC layers.
Methodologies
The first paper discusses the 802.11ah methodologies and the advantages and
disadvantages it brings in to the current WLAN. The paper discusses the current
specifications of the 802.11ah like use of OFDM in the physical layer and the support of long
range communications with the help of new PHY parameters in the MAC layer. The paper
analyses the available data and presents the use of the 802.11ah in the fields of healthcare,
environment and metering.

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The second paper discusses the new 802.11ax methodologies like the use of spatial
reuse, adaptation of CCA levels and transmit power dynamically, beamforming, temporal
efficiency, spectrum sharing and the use of multiple antennas.
Result comparison
The two papers discusses the two different variation of WLAN. The 802.11ah is able
to transmit data up to longer ranges. The paper reports that 802.11ah can cover area of a few
kilometres radius and word under the 1GHz band. The paper reported all the advantages and
disadvantages of this wlan type including its use in outdoor activities, healthcare institutions
and environmental testing. The paper also mentions a possibility of the use of 802.11ah in
high altitude grey zones especially over sea surfaces. It can also be used in 3D networks and
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The paper reports that the use of MIMO in 802.11ah is useful
and results in its extension of coverage.
The second paper discusses and theoretically applied many new features that can be
included in the high output WLAN 802.11ax. The paper discussed the performance gain and
advantages provided by the new features like the combination of spatial multiplexing and
channel bonding. The paper also reported that the implementation of these technologies will
require much more research in the coming years and still faces many hurdles. Overall, both
the papers talked about different types of WLAN. While one WLAN was more usable in long
range communications, the other WLAN type gave tremendous output and very high speed
data.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the two papers
The first paper has its own advantages. The first paper on 802.11ah brings out the
advantages of using 802.11ah in long range networks and communications. The paper states
the various uses of this WLAN in medical, environment and high altitudes fields. The paper
also demonstrated the specifications of the 802.11ah which resulted in the high coverage area
of this standard. The disadvantage of this paper is that it does not explain the shortcomings of
the 802.11ah standard and the areas where it can be improved.
The second paper discusses about the new features that can be incorporated in the
802.11ax which results in more throughput from the device. The paper also discusses how
these improvements theoretically changes the standard and increases its performance. The
disadvantage of the paper is that it fails to explain how to practically implement the features
suggested by the paper. It is to be noted that the paper claims that many years of research

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would be needed to convert this theoretical features into practical use. Overall, between the
two papers the first paper on the 802.11ah seems to be more superior compared to the other
as it provides us with features and benefits of the standard which is possible to implement in
the present and can be improved with more research in the future.
Recommendations
The second paper can be further improved by a more practical approach towards the
problem rather a basic theoretical one. The challenges mentioned in the implementation of
802.11ax as mentioned in the paper can be further investigated on and possible solutions to
those challenges could be proposed. The first paper needs no improvement as such but further
research into the 802.11ah standard may help in improving the current standard and increase
its range further.
Conclusion
To conclude this report summarizes two research papers selected on the topic of
wireless LANS. The report mentions the standards chosen in each paper and discusses about
the methodologies implemented in each of these standards. The report also illustrates the
various different technologies discussed in the two different papers and states their use in
improving the standard. The report also includes a section for the comparison between the
two papers and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. The report also mentions the
superiorly written and explained paper among the two. The report also compares the results
reported in the two different papers. To conclude, the report finally suggests some
recommendations that could be implemented in the further researches done on those papers
or the topic of WLAN in general.

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References
[1]Bellalta, B.,IEEE 802.11 ax: High-efficiency WLANs. IEEE Wireless
Communications, 23(1), pp.38-46. 2016.
[2]Afaqui, M.S., Garcia-Villegas, E. and Lopez-Aguilera, E., IEEE 802.11 ax: Challenges
and requirements for future high efficiency WiFi. IEEE Wireless Communications, 24(3),
pp.130-137. 2017
[3]Khorov, E., Kiryanov, A., Lyakhov, A. and Bianchi, G., A tutorial on IEEE 802.11 ax
high efficiency WLANs. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 21(1), pp.197-216.
2018
[4]Deng, D.J., Lin, Y.P., Yang, X., Zhu, J., Li, Y.B., Luo, J. and Chen, K.C., IEEE 802.11 ax:
highly efficient WLANs for intelligent information infrastructure. IEEE Communications
Magazine, 55(12), pp.52-59. 2017
[5]Park, M. IEEE 802.11 ah: sub-1-GHz license-exempt operation for the internet of
things. IEEE Communications Magazine, 53(9), pp.145-151. 2015
[6]Aust, S., Prasad, R.V. and Niemegeers, I.G., Outdoor long-range WLANs: A lesson for
IEEE 802.11 ah. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 17(3), pp.1761-1775. 2015
[7]Soares, S.M. and Carvalho, M.M., January. Throughput Analytical Modeling of IEEE
802.11 ah Wireless Networks. In 2019 16th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications &
Networking Conference (CCNC) (pp. 1-4). IEEE. 2019
[8]Baños-Gonzalez, V., Afaqui, M., Lopez-Aguilera, E. and Garcia-Villegas, E., IEEE
802.11 ah: A technology to face the IoT challenge. Sensors, 16(11), p.1960. 2016.