Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The maximum number of spatial streams supported by the 802.11ac standard is indeed 8 under ideal conditions. This capability is a key advancement of 802.11ac compared to previous standards. Each spatial stream allows for a separate data stream to be transmitted, which effectively increases the overall data throughput of the wireless connection.

By utilizing multiple antennas, 802.11ac employs a technology known as Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) under its operation, allowing for more efficient data transmission and improved performance in environments with multiple users. This is especially beneficial in scenarios where high throughput and bandwidth are required, such as streaming video or large file transfers.

While other wireless standards, such as 802.11n, support fewer spatial streams, 802.11ac takes advantage of advancements in antenna technology and signal processing to push the limit to eight streams. This makes it a powerful option for modern wireless networking needs.