Industry
perspective
Whyshouldwegetexcitedabout
Wi-Fi6?WechattedtoLionelParis,
directorofproductmarketing,
consumerproducts,atNetgear,
abouthowWi-Fi6 canupgrade
ourhomenetworks
“Wi-Fi6 is excitingin a numberofways.AlthoughWi-Fi
hasbeenaroundfor 20 years,understandingit hasalways
beena challengeforconsumers.Thisyear,theWi-Fi
Alliancehasansweredtheneedforclaritybyusing
numbers(4,5, and6) todifferentiateWi-Figenerations.
It’sa loteasiertounderstandthestepupfromWi-Fi5 to
Wi-Fi6 than802.11acto802.11ax,sowe’rereallypleased
aboutthatprogress.Notonlythat,butit willhelpwith
educatingconsumersonthedifferentspeedsand
versionsavailable,toensurethatwhenit’stimeto
upgrade,they’llknowtheyarebuyingthelateststandard.
“Asyoumightexpect,Wi-Fi6 bringsmajorimprovements
in bothspeedandcoverage.Whileeachimprovesupto
fourtimes,ofequalimportanceis thatthenewstandard
is muchbetterequippedtodealwiththemodernhome
fullofconnecteddevices.WiththeaverageUKhome
predictedtohave 50 connecteddevicesby2023,it’s
crucialtobringin a standardthathasthecapacityto
delivergreatperformanceunderincreasingdemand.”TP-Link explains the technology by comparing Wi-Fi
connections to a series of delivery trucks that deliver
data packets to your devices. In previous versions of Wi-Fi,
these delivery trucks could only deliver one parcel to one
device at a time. However, with Wi-Fi 6 and OFDMA, each
truck can deliver multiple parcels to multiple devices
simultaneously. In the real world, this would certainly
speed up Amazon deliveries, but in the case of Wi-Fi 6, it
leads to more efficient data delivery, and could help boost
the speeds of uploads and downloads.
Better battery life
You might not realise it, but how your device connects
to Wi-Fi networks can be one of the biggest drains on
its battery life, and with Wi-Fi 6, the Target Wake Time
(TWT) feature makes this more efficient. It helps control
when mobile devices wake up to send and receive
wireless data, and by better managing this, those mobile
devices can remain in their sleep state for longer. This, in
turn, leads to noticeably longer battery lives for your
mobile devices.
This technology will also benefit low-powered Internet
of Things (IoT) devices. With our homes becoming ever
more packed with this kind of smart gadget, this is
good news.
Should you be excited?
For many people, Wi-Fi is something that’s always there and,
most of the time, just works, so it can be difficult to get
excited about it. However, there are some scenarios where
Wi-Fi 6 can really make a difference. If you live or work in an
area with a lot of competing wireless networks, or your home
is full of devices (and people) all hammering the Internet,
Wi-Fi 6’s increased speeds and bandwidths can be a real
bonus. Plus, as our homes become ever more connected
with an increasing number of smart devices, while we also
demand more from our networks and Internet connections,
thanks to 4K streaming (and upcoming game streaming
services such as Google Stadia will add to that strain), Wi-Fi 6
will seem ever more essential.
Few smartphones support Wi-Fi 6,
but we hope that changes soon.
© netgearTechnology
Wi-Fi 6
December 2019 | |^53