Quick Guide to IEEE 802.11 Activities

Types of IEEE 802.11 activities

Activity	Tag	Description
Working Group	WG	The Working Group is comprised of all of the Standing Committees, Task Groups, Study Groups, and Ad-Hoc Groups. Membership is at the WG level. All WG members may participate in any of these sub-groups.
Task Group	TG	The committee(s) that are tasked by the WG as the author(s) of the Standard or subsequent Amendments via an approved PAR
Study Group	SG	A committee responsible for researching a possible future amendment. The output of the SG is usually a project authorization request (PAR). Study groups are authorized by the IEEE 802 executive committee (EC) and are expected to have a relatively short lifetime (~6 months). The SG terminates when it has submitted a PAR, or failed to gain approval for a PAR, or when the IEEE 802 EC declines to approve an SG extension.
Topic Interest Group	TIG	A committee that gathers together interested members to work together on a specific topic. This might be used before a study group to determine technical feasibility and initial requirements before deciding to request a study group. The TIG is formed by WG motion and dissolved by the WG chair. It typically lasts 6 months.
Standing Committee	SC	A committee with a determined role/task, that does not modify the IEEE 802.11 standard. These committees are created by the 802.11 chair and are relatively long-lived.
Ad-hoc Committee	AHC	A committee with a determined role/task, that does not modify the IEEE 802.11 standard. These committees are created by the 802.11 chair and are relatively short-lived.

Active Task Groups

Name	Tag	Description	Status
Task Group me	TGme	P802.11 Revision me - maintenance actions and roll-in of approved amendments	Approved February 2021
Task Group be	TGbe	Extremely High Throughput	Approved March 2019
Task Group bf	TGbf	WLAN Sensing	Approved September 2020
Task Group bh	TGbh	Randomized MAC Addresses (RCM)	Approved February 2021
Task Group bi	TGbi	Enhanced Data Privacy (EDP)	Approved February 2021
Task Group bk	TGbk	320 MHz Positioning	Approved November 2022
Task Group bn	TGbn	Ultra High Reliability	Approved February 2024
Task Group bp	TGbp	Ambient Power IoT Devices	Approved March 2024
For details of Task Group reflectors see here.

Standing Committees (SC) and Ad-hoc committees (AHC)

Name	Tag	Description
Wireless Next Generation	WNG SC	To provide an opportunity for all new or updated ideas to be presented for immediate 802.11 peer review. This committee acts as a clearing house for the wireless next generation of features to the plus refinements to the existing 802.11 Standard
Architecture	ARC SC	The Architecture SC engages senior members of 802.11 to discover, analyze, codify and promote a common understanding of 802.11 architecture; provides an interface point for architectural topics from other 802 groups; and advises the WG Chair re architecture interactions between 802.11 task groups.
Coexistence	Coex SC	The Coexistence SC was formed from the PDED Ad-hoc on 2017-05-12. The scope is: Discuss the use of packet detect (PD), energy detect (ED) or other coexistence mechanisms with the goal of promoting “fair access” to unlicensed spectrum for all technologies including IEEE 802.11 Promote an environment that enables IEEE 802.11ax to have “fair access” to global unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz band
Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning	AIML SC	The Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AIML) standing committee explores the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in IEEE 802.11 systems and devices.
Editors	Editors SC	The editors SC is formed from the technical editors of the WG and its subgroups. It meets during 802.11 sessions to address editorial topics, such as style, consistency, numbering, publication processes tools. It generally meets on Tuesday at 07:00 during a session. These meetings are open to all interested parties.

Study Groups and Topic Interest Groups

Name	Tag	Description
None at present

Inactive Task groups

Name	Tag	Description	Status
MAC Task Group	MAC	The scope of the project is to develop one common MAC for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) applications, in-conjunction with the PHY Task Group work	Work has been completed on the ISO / IEC version of the original Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11, 1999 (ISO/IEC 8802-11: 1999)
PHY Task Group	PHY	The scope of the project is to develop three PHY's for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) applications, using Infrared (IR), 2.4 GHz Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS), and 2.4 GHz Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), in-conjunction with the one common MAC Task Group work	Work has been completed on the ISO / IEC version of the original Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11, 1999 (ISO/IEC 8802-11: 1999)
Task Group a	TGa	The scope of the project is to develop a PHY to operate in the UNII band.	Work has been completed on the ISO / IEC version of the original Standard as an amendment - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11a-1999 (ISO/IEC 8802-11: 1999 (E)/Amd 1: 2000 (ISO/IEC) and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group b	TGb	The scope of the project is to develop a standard for a higher rate PHY in the 2.4GHz band	Work has been completed and is now part of the Standard as an amendment - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11b-1999
Task Group b-Cor1	TGb-Cor1	The scope of this project is to correct deficiencies in the MIB definition of 802.11b	Work has been completed and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group c	TGc	This amendment adds a subclause under 2.5 Support of the Internal Sub-Layer Service by specific MAC Procedures to cover bridge operation with IEEE 802.11 MAC. This supplement to ISO/IEC 10038 (IEEE 802.1D) will be developed by the 802.11 Working Group in cooperation with the IEEE 802.1 Working Group.	Work has been completed and is now part of the ISO/IEC 10038 (IEEE 802.1D) Standard and part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group d	TGd	This amendment defines the physical layer requirements (channelization, hopping patterns), new values for current MIB attributes, and other requirements to extend the operation of 802.11 WLANs to new regulatory domains (countries)	Work has been completed and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group e	TGe	This amendment enhances the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) to improve and manage Quality of Service.	Work has been completed and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group F	TGF	This is a recommended practice for an Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP) which provides the necessary capabilities to achieve multi-vendor Access Point interoperability across a Distribution System supporting IEEE P802.11 Wireless LAN Links.	Work has completed and was Published as IEEE Std. 802.11F-2003, which was withdrawn as of February 2006.
Task Group g	TGg	This amendment provides a higher speed(s) PHY extension to the 802.11b standard.	Work has been completed and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group h	TGh	This amendment enhances the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) standard and 802.11a High Speed Physical Layer (PHY) in the 5GHz Band supplement to the standard; adds indoor and outdoor channel selection for 5GHz license exempt bands in Europe; and enhances channel energy measurement and reporting mechanisms to improve spectrum and transmit power management (per CEPT and subsequent EU committee or body ruling incorporating CEPT Recommendation ERC 99/23)	Work has been completed and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group i	TGi	This amendment enhances the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) to enhance security and authentication mechanisms	Work has been completed and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group j	TGj	This amendment enhances the 802.11 standard to add channel selection for 4.9 GHz and 5 GHz in Japan to additionally conform to the Japanese rules for radio operation	Work has been completed and is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2007
Task Group k	TGk	This amendment defines Radio Resource Measurement enhancements to provide interfaces to higher layers for radio and network measurements	Completed with the publication of IEEE Std 802.11k-2008. The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group m	TGm	This group provides maintenance of the IEEE 802.11 standard by rolling published amendments into revisions of the 802.11 standard. Note that Mentor and Email reflectors refer to "TGm". References in WG official documentation to "TGmc" or "REVmc" are synonyms for TGm.	Std 802.11-2012 published March 2012. Std 802.11-2016 published Dec 2016.
Task Group n	TGn	This amendment provides improvements to the 802.11 standard to provide high throughput (>100Mbps)	Published as IEEE Std 802.11n-2009 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group p	TGp	This amendment supports communication between vehicles and the roadside and between vehicles while operating at speeds up to a minimum of 200 km/h for communication ranges up to 1000 meters. The amendment supports communications in the 5 GHz bands; specifically 5.850-5.925 GHz band within North America with the aim to enhance the mobility and safety of all forms of surface transportation, including rail and marine.	Published as IEEE Std 802.11p-2010 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group r	TGr	This amendment provides enhancements to the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) layer to minimize or eliminate the amount of time data connectivity between the Station (STA) and the Distribution System (DS) is absent during a Basic Service Set (BSS) transition, limited to the state necessary for the operation of the MAC.	Completed with the publication of IEEE Std 802.11r-2008 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group s	TGs	This amendment provides a protocol for auto-configuring paths between APs over self-configuring multi-hop topologies in a WDS to support both broadcast/multicast and unicast traffic in an ESS Mesh using the four-address frame format or an extension.	Completed with the publication of IEEE Std 802.11s-2011 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group T	TGT	This recommended practice was intended to provide a set of performance metrics, measurement methodologies, and test conditions to enable measuring and predicting the performance of 802.11 WLAN devices and networks at the component and application level as a recommended practice.	Work abandoned without achieving WG approval of a draft.
Task Group u	TGu	This amendment to the IEEE 802.11 MAC and PHY supports InterWorking with External Networks.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11u-2011 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group v	TGv	This amendment provides Wireless Network Management enhancements to the 802.11 MAC, and PHY, and extends prior work in radio measurement to effect a complete and coherent upper layer interface for managing 802.11 devices in wireless networks.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11v-2011 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group w	TGw	The amendment enhances the IEEE 802.11 Medium Access Control layer to provide, mechanisms that enable data integrity, data origin authenticity, replay protection, and data confidentiality for selected IEEE 802.11 management frames.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11w-2009 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group y	TGy	This amendment supports use of 802.11 based systems in the 3650-3700 MHz band in the USA (FCC 05-56).	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11y-2008
Task Group z	TGz	This amendment defines a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) mechanism to allow operation without access point support for this feature and allow stations with an active TDLS session to enter power save mode.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11z-2010 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2012.
Task Group aa	TGaa	This amendment specifies enhancements to the 802.11 MAC (Medium Access Control) for robust audio video streaming, while maintaining co-existence with other types of traffic. It also supports interworking with relevant 802.1AVB mechanisms (802.1Qat, 802.1Qav, 802.1AS)	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11aa-2012 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2016.
Task Group ac	TGac	This amendment specifies enhancements to the 802.11 MAC and PHY to support very high throughput (500-1000 Mbps) in the 5 GHz bands.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ac-2013 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2016.
Task Group ad	TGad	This amendment defines standardized modifications to both the 802.11 physical layers (PHY) and the 802.11 Medium Access Control Layer (MAC) to enable operation in the 60 GHz frequency band (typically 57-66 GHz) capable of very high throughput (>= 1Gbps). It also enables fast session transfer between 802.11 PHYs .	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ad-2012 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2016.
Task Group ae	TGae	This amendment defines mechanisms for prioritizing IEEE 802.11 management frames using existing mechanisms for medium access.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ae-2012 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2016.
Task Group af	TGaf	An amendment that defines modifications to both the 802.11 physical layers (PHY) and the 802.11 Medium Access Control Layer (MAC), to meet the legal requirements for channel access and coexistence in the TV White Space.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11af-2013 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2016.
Task Group ah	TGah	An amendment that defines operation in Sub 1 GHz frequencies. Supports applications that benefit from range extension, such as smart meters.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ah-2016 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2020.
Task Group ai	TGai	An amendment that supports Fast Link Setup, i.e., to reduce time to set up an association.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ai-2016 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2020.
Task Group aj	TGaj	An amendment that supports very high throughput in the China millimetre-wave bands	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11aj-2018 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2020.
Task Group ak	TGak	An amendment that supports General Links (i.e., bridging using 802.1 mechanisms across an 802.11 link)	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ak-2018 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2020.
Task Group aq	TGaq	An amendment that supports Pre-Association Discovery. Pre-Association Discovery relates to the problem of how a Station - STA (e.g., a Mobile Device) discovers the availability of services within the network to which another STA (e.g., an Access Point) is connected.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11aq-2018 The amendment has been superseded as it is now part of the IEEE 802.11 Standard - Published as IEEE Std. 802.11-2020.
Task Group ax	TGax	An amendment that supports High Efficiency WLANs, and adds support for 6GHz operation.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ax™-2021 on May 19, 2021.
Task Group ay	TGay	An amendments that supports enhanced throughput for operation license-exempt bands above 45 GHz.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ay™-2021 on July 28, 2021.
Task Group ba	TGba	An amendment that supports Wake-up Radio Operation.	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11ba™-2021 on October 8, 2021.
Task Group az	TGaz	Next Generation Positioning - improved accuracy, scalability and adding directionality .	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11az™-2022 on March 3, 2023
Task Group bb	TGbb	Light Communications	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11bb™-2023 on November 10, 2023
Task Group bc	TGbc	Enhanced Broadcast Service	Following completion, an error was found and corrected in IEEE Std 802.11-2020/Cor 2-2024. This correction was incorporated into the version published as IEEE Std 802.11bc™-2023 on February 28, 2024
Task Group bd	TGbd	Enhancements for Next Generation V2X	Completed and published as IEEE Std 802.11bd™-2022 on March 10, 2023