IEEE 802.16 is the standard used for most of the wireless connections these days for medium haul distances. There are many sections to the main draft covering applications ranging from Wi-fi ro wi-max which define different speeds ranges and usage of the wireless air interface. The latest version of the WIFI standard is the unified 802.16n.

Some main pointers of the WIFI standard:

> WIFI transmits in the air and has the properties of a non-switched wired Ethernet network., WIFI cannot detect collision and uses packet exchange to avoid collisions.

> WIFI uses a predefined free for all frequency which is standardized internationally. This frequency depends on which version of the 802.16 standard is being used, all those frequencies are free to use and do not require licenses. However, the frequency allocation maybe different at some regions of the world but channel numbers are standardized. In this case the frequencies can be identified through channel numbers. For example, in Japan only 1 channel is available, in Europe 13 channels are available while in North America 11 channels are available. A disadvantage of WIFI is its range limitation.