Which design consideration is most important for real-time applications such as voice and video over WLAN?

High data rates improve throughput but do not guarantee the consistent, low-delay delivery that voice and video codecs require to avoid degradation.

Real-time audio and video streams require consistent, predictable packet delivery; excessive latency causes audible or visible delay while jitter causes choppy playback. WLAN designs for these applications must implement QoS mechanisms such as WMM to prioritize voice/video queues and minimize queuing delay and jitter.

Maximum aggregate throughput is a bulk-transfer concern; real-time streams use relatively low and fixed bit rates and are far more sensitive to delay and jitter than to total bandwidth.

DFS channels help avoid radar interference and can reduce congestion, but selecting DFS channels is a spectrum planning consideration, not the primary design factor for latency-sensitive applications.