Re: "Safe" cell phone WiFi capabilities?

On 17/05/2024 07:11, Don Y wrote:

For "nominal" cell phones (i.e., taking into consideration
that not ever subscriber buys The Latest and Greatest),
what's the "base" WiFi capability one would feel comfortable
assuming?  ac?  ax?

Probably n now in most places with modern chipsets. Cell phones have a lifecycle of about 5 years before the battery swells and dies.

If you extend that to include *all* phones currently in service
(e.g., 4G onwards), where would you put the cutoff?  n?  g?
 [US market]

Probably around n for the Wifi link but you can still find places in rural areas where the cell phones are on 2.5G mobile connections. Only in the cities can you safely assume 5G and adequate backhaul.
4G mobile broadband service tends to saturate when large crowds all try to do the same thing at once (eg at football matches).
--
Martin Brown