802.11g Rated Speed
The rated speed of 802.11g networking devices is 54 Mbps. However, 802.11g and other Wi-Fi network protocols include a feature called dynamic rate scaling. When the wireless signal between two connected Wi-Fi devices is not strong, the connection cannot support the fastest speed. Instead, the Wi-Fi protocol reduces its maximum transmission speed to a lower number to maintain the connection. It is common for 802.11g connections to run at 36 Mbps, 24 Mbps, or even lower. When dynamically set, these values become the new theoretical maximum speeds for that connection, which are even lower in practice because of the Wi-Fi protocol overhead.
About 108 Mbps Speed
Some wireless home networking products based on 802.11g and designated as Xtreme G and Super G network routers and adapters support 108 Mbps bandwidth. However, these products use proprietary extensions to the 802.11g standard to achieve higher performance. If a 108 Mbps product is connected to a standard 802.11g device, its performance falls back to the 54 Mbps maximum rate.
Why 802.11g Networks Run More Slowly Than 54 Mbps
Neither 54 Mbps nor 108 Mbps numbers fully represent the true speed you’ll likely experience on an 802.11g network. The 54 Mbps rating represents a theoretical maximum only. It encounters significant overhead from network protocol data that Wi-Fi connections must exchange for security and reliability purposes. The actual useful data exchanged on 802.11g networks always occurs at lower rates than 54 Mbps.
