i-Fi 6 is probably the most exciting
thing to happen to your wireless
network in 2019. Now it’s launched,
you’ll start to hear the term
increasingly bandied about by router
makers and ISPs. But what exactly is
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closelookat what Wi-Fi 6 promises and explain the
impact it can have on home networks. We’ll tell you
everything you need to know about the standard,
including how to upgrade your network to get the
most out of the new tech.
You may have already come across Wi-Fi 6’s
previous name: 802.11ax. Thankfully, the Wi-Fi
$OOLDQFHDQRQSURÀWRUJDQLsation that ensures
Wi-Fi products meet certain standards,
acknowledged that the former naming conventions
were far too convoluted. As Edgar Figueroa,
president and CEO of the Wi-Fi Alliance, explains:
“For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi usershavehadtosort
through technical naming conventionstodetermine
if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi.TheWi-Fi
Alliance is excited to introduce Wi-Fi6, andpresenta
new naming scheme to help industryandWi-Fiusers
easily understand the Wi-Fi generationsupportedby
their device or connection.”
“Wi-Fi 6” is certainly going to be aloteasierto
remember than “802.11ax,” which supersedes
802.11ac (now known as Wi-Fi 5). It bringsthe
naming convention more in line with3G,4G,and5G.
Going from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6 is a clearupgrade–
whereas it’s not clear whether 802.11axis neweror
older than 802.11ac.
If your current router is only a fewyearsold,it’s
likely to be a Wi-Fi 5 model. While Wi-Fi6 is
backward compatible with older devices,you’llneed
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the new technology.December 2019 | |^49
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