This post is about SI also known as International System of Units for Wi-Fi. The target audience is those who write about Wi-Fi.

Table of Contents

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Why should I care?

The International System of Units (SI) is a globally recognized system of measurement that provides a standardized way to measure and communicate various physical quantities such as length, mass, time, and electric current. Wi-Fi is a technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless network connectivity between devices.

Using the correct SI units is important for international communication and standardization. Wi-Fi is a global technology used by people around the world (and in space!), and having a common system of measurement ensures that everyone is using the same standards and terminology. This can help prevent confusion and promote efficient communication and collaboration across borders.

Overall, while understanding the SI units for Wi-Fi may not be essential for everyone, it can be a useful skill for those who create content for those who work in IT.

Do I have to follow these rules?

No, you don’t have to, but you should. Your writing style will be more correct if you follow these rules.

General Style

Rules:

  • Units are printed in lower-case letters unless they are derived from a proper name, in which case the first letter is a capital letter. Like giga which the symbol is G where an example is 1 Gbps.
  • The numerical value always precedes the unit symbol (unit of measurement) and a space is always used to separate the unit from the number. Recommended to use a non-breaking space to separate the unit and number.
  • The unit, if not included in SI, should follow branding guidelines (Wi-Fi for example) or commonly accepted conventions (dBm for example).

Wi-Fi

Correct:

  • Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 4
  • Wi-Fi 5
  • Wi-Fi 6
  • Wi-Fi 6E
  • Wi-Fi 7
  • Wi-Fi 8

Wrong:

  • wifi
  • WIFI
  • WiFi
  • WiFI
  • wifi 1
  • wIFi 2
  • Wi-Fi 3
  • wifi6
  • WiFi6
  • wifi6e
  • wi-fi
  • Wi-FI
  • Wi-Fi 6e
  • Wi-Fi6e
  • wifi7
  • WiFi7
  • wifi8

Frequency and Channel Bandwidth

Correct:

  • 1 Hz
  • 20 MHz
  • 40 MHz
  • 6 GHz

Wrong:

  • 1hz
  • 1 hz
  • 20mhz
  • 40MHZ
  • 40 MHZ
  • 6ghz
  • 6Ghz
  • 6GHz

Power

Correct:

  • 1 W

Wrong:

  • 1w

Throughput

Correct:

  • 10 Mbps
  • 20 Gbps

Wrong:

  • 10mbps
  • 10 mbps
  • 10 MBPS
  • 20GBPS

Resources and Rationale

Check out these links for further reading to understand the rationale behind this post.

Thanks to Colin Vallance for reading drafts of this.

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