What was the first commercially successful Wi-Fi standard?

The first commercially successful Wi-Fi standard was IEEE 802.11b. Although the original IEEE 802.11 standard appeared in 1997, it offered only up to 2 Mbit/s and saw limited adoption. The 802.11b amendment, finalized in 1999, raised theoretical speeds to 11 Mbit/s while using the widely available 2.4 GHz band.

That combination of greater speed, lower hardware costs, and compatibility among products helped wireless networking move beyond specialized business installations. Apple’s 1999 AirPort base station and iBook helped make Wi-Fi visible to ordinary consumers, while the emerging Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance promoted interoperability and later became the Wi-Fi Alliance.

A common mix-up is calling 802.11b the first Wi-Fi standard in an absolute sense. The original 802.11 specification was technically first; 802.11b was the first broadly accepted and commercially successful version. Later standards such as 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac increased speed and capacity, but they built on the market created by 802.11b.