Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11.ax), the sixth generation of wireless networking technology, is the name of the Wi-Fi standard.
Wi-Fi 6 will revolutionize the network – albeit at a very slow pace.
Wi-Fi has been around for more than two decades, and in that time it has become as ubiquitous and vital as the Internet itself.
Since Apple took the first step in 1999 to add Wi-Fi support to its then-advanced MacBook line, the technology has evolved and fragmented into countless standards, but always with backward compatibility, all the way back to the early days of 1MB/sec connections.
Wi-Fi 6 is the latest upgrade to the standard – and the first time in 15 years that an additional spectrum has been added. Just over a year ago, the Wi-Fi Alliance finally approved Wi-Fi 6, which was touted as the biggest update to the wireless standard in more than a decade, but it brings more nuance and complexity than ever before.
So what exactly is it, and how can it help you? We’ve gathered the answers to the biggest questions about Wi-Fi 6 here, so allow us to guide you through the wireless revolution.
What happened to Wi-Fi 1-5?
First, you didn’t miss Wi-Fi 1 through 5. The Wi-Fi 6 name is part of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s renaming campaign. Until now, standards have been referenced by the letter suffixes of their technical names.
The latest are Wireless G (802.11g), Wireless N (802.11n), and Wireless ac (802.11ac).
To make them easier to distinguish, they have now been retroactively given the acronyms Wi-Fi 3, 4, and 5, respectively. meanwhile, Wi-Fi 6 is more formally known as 802.11ax.
Another slight complication is that there are actually two versions of Wi-Fi 6 to beware of. Standard Wi-Fi 6 uses the new technology but broadcasts in the existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
The second revision, Wi-Fi 6e, introduces an entirely new band – 6GHz. We’ll explain how this works for you later.
Each new iteration of the Wi-Fi standard has always been compatible with the previous standard, and Wi-Fi 6 is no exception. But that doesn’t mean you can buy a new router, pick up your trusty old laptop and get a speed boost.
To really feel the benefits, you need a Wi-Fi 6-enabled device, which is currently limited to a handful of high-end phones and laptops, but that number is growing all the time, so if you’re eyeing a new infrastructure, it’s wise to consider adding Wi-Fi 6 to your list of requirements.
What are the advantages of Wi-Fi 6?
The fact that there is a speed advantage, but is almost a byproduct.
Individual devices connected via Wi-Fi 6 will have about 37 percent faster Internet speeds, but the increase in throughput-that is, the amount of data a router can process and send across the network-can mean a real increase of up to 300 percent in terms of the entire network.
Part of the reason for the increase in throughput is the increase in capacity. While most access points are theoretically capable of issuing 254 internal IP addresses, in practice, most legacy wireless devices struggle to manage connections starting at around 70.
Wi-Fi 6 devices are typically able to manage up to 200, and sometimes more, node environments, such as mesh Wi-Fi networks.
The increased throughput has a number of significant side effects – first, the increased Wi-Fi throughput leaves more network capacity available for wired connections, which means they also improve, albeit passively. We noticed a small but significant increase in transfer speeds from the laptop to the NAS in a Wi-Fi 6 environment.
Similarly, Wi-Fi 6 devices connected to Wi-Fi 6 routers can actually see a small improvement in battery life due to the way the Wi-Fi 6 router resolves signals in a more efficient manner (called OFDMA). Think of it as a router that implements an orderly queuing system, rather than trying to process every incoming signal simultaneously.
Other technological advances include the widespread use of MU-MIMO, a more advanced version of beamforming that “shapes” the signal wave around each target object, rather than traditional MIMO, which points the entire signal in the right general direction.
Dynamic fragmentation means that packets can be composed of different sizes, so the system does not try to dynamically populate a standardized packet size. This reduces latency because the router does not wait to fill half-full packets before transmitting.
In addition, with Wi-Fi 6e, the signal can be broadcast on any frequency between 1GHz and 6GHz, rather than being limited to the two standard bands of 2.4GHz and 5GHz, making the connection more reliable.
Do I need Wi-Fi 6?
So is it worth upgrading? If you choose WiFi 6, you’ll gain network benefits, but the data is carried over the existing bands, so the differences you see on your existing devices may be limited.
If you’re lucky enough to have a Wi-Fi 6-enabled device, you’ll notice a small difference (we measured a 4Mb/sec speed jump on a compatible smartphone).
Overall, the combined improvements will add up to a smoother, more stable network, even on networks with Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 4 devices.
Wi-Fi 6e with the additional 6GHz band is now almost entirely available for network infrastructure (routers and access points) and offers buyers the opportunity to validate their networks for at least 10 to 15 years into the future.
6GHz-enabled endpoint devices are beginning to emerge, and these devices will gain the greatest individual advantage. As with all leading-edge technologies, Wi-Fi 6e currently has an early adopter premium but may become more competitive in the future.
The overall message here is that Wi-Fi 6 will be the gift that keeps on giving. You may not notice a huge change today, but as the number of connected devices increases (and IoT devices are a big part of that), you’ll find faster, more stable network connections to Wi-Fi 5 gadgets than the same group of devices.
As time goes on and more devices themselves support Wi-Fi 6, you’ll see further improvements. In addition, once WPA3 becomes the standard for encrypted connections, you’ll see it implemented in Wi-Fi 6, creating a more secure network.
Wi-Fi 6 is still in its early stages. It has the potential to be a game changer, especially with the widespread adoption of devices ranging from IoT devices to laptops that will maximize the benefits of the new features.
You can still experience its value immediately today, but the technology won’t stand still for long. The Wi-Fi Alliance has drafted Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) for certification in just a few years. For now, however, WiFi 6 and WiFi 6e are the pinnacles of wireless networking.
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