| Max link distance (practical) | ~200-500m LOS | ~200-500m LOS | ~10m LOS | ~100m LOS | All require LOS or near-LOS. Obstacles cause severe diffraction at 60GHz. |
| Oxygen absorption @ 60 GHz | N/A | N/A | ~15 dB/km | ~15 dB/km | Major limitation of 60GHz. At 100m: 1.5dB loss from O2. Negligible for short indoor links. |
| Rain attenuation | ~0.01 dB/km | ~0.01 dB/km | ~7-15 dB/km @ heavy rain | ~7-15 dB/km | Rain < 50mm/hr: ~7 dB/km @ 60GHz. Design for worst-case rain region. |
| Fresnel zone (100m @ midpoint) | ~2.4m (2.4GHz) / ~1.7m (5GHz) | ~1.7m (5GHz) | ~0.3m (60GHz) | ~0.3m | 60GHz: tiny Fresnel zone. Even minor obstruction = total blockage. Human body = complete link failure. |
| Fade margin recommended | 10-15 dB | 10-15 dB | 20-25 dB | 20-25 dB | 60GHz: higher margin for oxygen, rain, multipath, alignment error. |
| Antenna gain typical | ~14-24 dBi (sector/dish) | ~14-24 dBi | ~25-40 dBi (horn/array) | ~25-40 dBi | 60GHz dish at 30dBi has 3-5 degree beamwidth. Sub-degree pointing accuracy for very high gain. |
| Link availability target | 99.9% (43.8 min down/year) | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | For 99.99%: add ~10dB Rayleigh fade margin on 5GHz. 60GHz limited by rain and blockage more than Rayleigh. |
| Rayleigh fade margin (99.9%, 5GHz) | ~30 dB | ~30 dB | N/A (not Rayleigh-dominated) | N/A | Rayleigh fading: margin M = -10*log10(-ln(availability)). At 99.9%: M=30dB. At 99.99%: M=40dB. |
| Max PHY rate | ~3.47 Gbps (80MHz 4SS ac) | ~4.8 Gbps (80MHz 8SS ax) | ~6.76 Gbps | ~100 Gbps (802.11ay channel bonding) | 802.11ay: 4x 2.16GHz channels bonded = 8.64GHz BW. Theoretical ~100Gbps. |
| Regulatory band | 5150-5850 MHz (regional vary) | 5150-5850 / 5925-7125 MHz | 57-71 GHz (ITU unlicensed) | 57-71 GHz | 60GHz is unlicensed globally (ITU Radio Regs Article 5). High EIRP limits: 40-57 dBm EIRP in most regions. |