Whoosh – Wi-Fi 6 Is Sweeping into Town
If we were to share our excitement at the advent of IEEE802.11ax there’s a very good chance that you’d stop reading and click back on your browser. However, the term Wi-Fi 6 may be of more interest to you.
What is Wi-Fi 6? Will it affect my business? When can we expect it, and how does it work?
All valid questions. Let’s explore them together.
What is Wi-Fi 6?
Simply put, Wi-Fi 6 is the next generation of wireless connectivity. Current Wi-Fi networks (you’re most likely using 5th generation) broadcast to one device at a time. When more than one device connects, the signal slows down as it tries to keep all the devices connected. Multiple devices mean a painfully slow connection – if at all.
Wi-Fi 6, on the other hand, broadcasts to multiple devices simultaneously. The obvious upshot of this is a significantly faster connection speed at home and in the office.
However, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
What are the benefits of Wi-Fi 6?
Quicker Connections
With the ability to keep more connected devices happy, Wi-Fi 6 will be a welcome addition to users of high-bandwidth applications. Think video streaming or global video conference calls – especially in congested cities, airports, hotels or sporting venues where we are forced to wait our turn when it comes to available bandwidth.
This seamless connection adds another layer of reliability and speed to what is becoming a global phenomenon – virtual reality. Not just for gamers, VR is used extensively in training, emotional therapy, sports, medical training and education.
Of course, businesses are always going to prick their ears up when it comes to faster connectivity. But there is more to Wi-Fi 6 than just speed.
Target Wake Time
Target wake time (TWT) refers to how often an internet-connected device will “wake up” to send or receive information.
An article breaking down TWT policies says, “Target Wake Time (TWT) will be very useful for both mobile devices and IoT devices. TWT uses negotiated policies based on expected traffic activity between 802.11ax clients and an 802.11ax AP to specify a scheduled wake time for each client. 802.1ax IoT clients could potentially sleep for hours or days at a time to conserve battery life.”
Smart devices, depending on their usage, can be gluttons when it comes to battery usage. Wi-Fi 6 promises longer battery life by better utilisation of power.
Reduced Latency
The amount of time it takes for your device to act on a command – latency – has been reduced to milliseconds. However, Wi-Fi 6 promises even further reductions in latency which means, yes, you guessed it, faster online activity.
Wi-Fi 6 In a Nutshell
Belden summarised this exciting new technology succinctly in their article on the benefits offered by Wi-Fi 6:
- Lower battery consumption in Wi-Fi 6 devices supported by Wi-Fi 6 networks
- Higher data rates with peak Gigabit speeds
- Increased capacity with reduced latency to support higher numbers of users and devices, thanks to improved medium access control (MAC) control signalling
- High-performance levels in the densest environments
- More robust outdoor network operations
- Increased efficiency and lower latency with an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) uplink and downlink digital modulation scheme
In order to reap the business benefits of a faster and more powerful connectivity solution, you will need to make some adjustments to your current infrastructure. Fortunately, these can be incremental and are not likely to eat into your IT budget in any significant way.
We’d like to invite you to contact our team of connectivity professionals who can advise you on when, how and why to implement Wi-Fi 6 for your business.
Please contact us on +27 878 200 220
