Which of the following statements about 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channel selection and U.S. regulations is TRUE?
The IEEE 802.11 standard prohibits the indoor use of channel 2 in the United States because it overlaps adjacent channels.
Because 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channels are only 5 MHz wide, overlapping cannot occur; interference is only a concern in the 5 GHz band.
U.S. FCC regulations require that all Wi-Fi access points operate only on channels 1, 6, or 11 in the 2.4 GHz band.
Avoiding overlapping channels (1, 6, and 11) in 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is considered best practice for reducing interference, but it is not mandated by U.S. regulation.
In the United States the FCC permits Wi-Fi operation on channels 1-11 in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. Each channel is 20 MHz wide, while channel numbers are only 5 MHz apart, so most channels overlap. Because overlapping transmissions can interfere with one another, network engineers typically choose the three non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11) for adjacent access points. This practice improves performance, but it is not a legal requirement-channels 2 through 11 remain lawful to use, and only channel 14 is prohibited outright. Therefore the correct statement is that avoiding overlap is best practice, not regulation. The other options incorrectly claim a legal mandate, misstate IEEE restrictions, or misunderstand channel width.
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