Put in place and developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, also abbreviated as the IEEE, the 802.11 protocol is a set of specifications that define the standards or protocols for wireless local area networks/WLANs, most of them pertaining to media access control/MAC and physical layers/PHY. These standards are used and imported across the board in networking systems and WiFi connections to enable connectivity between various electronic devices on a wireless basis. The protocols began with an initial set of specifications which are added to and amended when needed by the respective and relevant technical authorities at the IEEE. All of the specifications that come under the 802.11 family are based on the Ethernet as well as the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance or CSMA/CA.
There are several subdivisions of the specifications that come under the umbrella family name of 802.11, including the likes of 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11e, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac Wave 2, 802.11ad, 802.11r, and 802.11X.
Looking for 802.11 IP cores? click here.