Wi-Fi 6: the Fact File

Introduction to Wi-Fi

While many of us lived without it, we can’t imagine doing so today. It’s so intertwined in our daily activities, we don’t think about it anymore. Virtually every service we interact with needs Wi-Fi to work.

One of the biggest success stories of modern technology, Wi-Fi has fundamentally changed how we live, work and play. From transforming education and extending health care providers’ capabilities to pushing the boundaries for new technologies, industries and careers, it puts the world at our fingertips.

Wi-Fi will continue to revolutionize communications in ways we can’t yet imagine. It’s estimated that Wi-Fi will have a global economic value of $4.9 trillion in 2025, up from $3.3 trillion in 2021.1

Imagine a day without Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi Alliance Video)

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What is Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi 6 benefits in detail

The road ahead: Wi-Fi 6E

Wi-Fi 6/6E technology in detail

On the horizon—Wi-Fi 7

As with all technology, the question is always, “What’s coming next?”—and Wi-Fi is no exception. The IEEE’s general cycle for releasing the next generation of Wi-Fi is about six years. The IEEE17 was originally projected to finalize 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) in 2019 (six years after 802.11ac—Wi-Fi 5 was finalized in 2013), but the final document was delayed. Undeterred, the IEEE had already started working on the next generation of the Wi-Fi PHY standard—802.11be—which the Wi-Fi Alliance is anticipated to name “Wi-Fi 7.”

The industry expects an early release of the 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) amendment in early 202418, with a finalized amendment coming in 2025, holding to the six-year cycle. Wi-Fi 7 is expected to build upon the features that came with Wi-Fi 6 and include the spectrum in Wi-Fi 6E, allowing for a unified standard that will include the three unlicensed bands: 2.4; 5; and 6 GHz. Wi-Fi 7 will also be known as “Extremely High Throughput,” and the reasoning will become evident soon.

While the modulation scheme won’t change like we saw from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6, additional features19 are expected to make it to the final amendment:

  • 320 MHz-wide channel
  • 4096-QAM (4K-QAM)
  • 16 spatial streams
  • Multi-band/multi-channel aggregation
  • Enhanced resource allocation
  • Optimized channel sounding to improve airtime utilization
  • Multi-access point (AP) coordination (multiple APs sending to a single client)
  • Contiguous and noncontiguous 320/160+160 MHz and 240/160+80 MHz bandwidth

While these aren’t guaranteed to make the final draft—and others could be added later—some of these features explain the “Extremely High Throughput” designation that Wi-Fi 7 is getting. Consider using 4096-QAM on a channel width of 320 MHz, and speeds are expected to cross the 45 Gbps range—about four times the speed of Wi-Fi 6.

320 MHz-wide channel
320 MHz-wide channel

1024-QAM vs 4096-QAM
1024-QAM vs 4096-QAM

Along with 16 spatial streams, the ability to aggregate channels across multiple bands is also a promise for speed enhancements. Utilization improvements are also expected to enhance the efficiencies introduced in Wi-Fi 6. These improvements are mainly in the background process inherent in the CSMA-CA process used in Wi-Fi. End users will notice any improvements in efficiency as the service being “faster,” since less time is wasted not sending or receiving data.

16 spatial streams
16 spatial streams

Channel aggregation across multiple bands
Channel aggregation across multiple bands

Other improvements that stand out are the multi-AP coordination and the introduction of noncontiguous bandwidth features. While very promising, these could be challenging in real-world scenarios.

Multi-AP is the concept that two different APs will be able to send data to the same client at the same time—halving the time needed to send data. If it takes 90 seconds to download a movie today, that same movie could be downloaded in just 45 seconds with this one new feature. Factoring in the new 4K-QAM and a wider channel, that same movie could realistically be downloaded in less than 15 seconds.

Multi-access point coordination
Multi-access point coordination

Contiguous and noncontiguous 160 MHz bandwidth
Contiguous and noncontiguous 160 MHz bandwidth

The final significant feature announcement is the noncontiguous bandwidth requirement. To form a channel that’s 160 MHz wide today, the entire spectrum—from channel 36 (5.170 GHz) to channel 64 (5.330 GHz)—needs to be available without interruptions. That contiguous spectrum is required to make a channel that’s 160 MHz wide. With this new feature, 80 MHz of spectrum from the U-NII-2a band (channels 52 through 64) could be combined with the U-NII-3 band (channels 149 through 161) to form a channel that uses 160 MHz worth of spectrum even though they aren’t contiguous. Being able to use the spectrum in this way allows designers to use wider channels that aren’t in use today, so every user would have a similar experience.

Airtime and spectrum improvements enhance user experience, which is what everyone is working toward.

As with previous generations of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 7 consumer devices are expected to be seen on the market well before the IEEE amendment is finalized. Some forecasts are calling for Wi-Fi 7 devices to start appearing as soon as early 2023, with enterprise devices starting in the fall of 2023. Combined with the delay in the automatic frequency coordination (AFC) process needed for the outdoor 6 GHz spectrum, enterprise Wi-Fi 7 devices should slot in nicely a few months after the AFC needed for full operation is online and functioning.

1 https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/value-of-wi-fi
2 Wi-Fi Definition (techterms.com)
3 Wi-Fi - Wikipedia
4 Hedy Lamarr, inventor of Wi-Fi, is subject of 'Bombshell' - CNET
5 Wireless Network - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
6 Discover Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi Alliance
7 https://wlanprofessionals.com/updated-unlicensed-spectrum-charts/
8 Number of connected devices per person | Statista
9 https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/iot/by-2030-each-person-will-own-15-connected-devices-heres-what-that-means-for-your-business-and-content/
10 https://www.sdxcentral.com/5g/definitions/will-5g-WiFi/
11 Evaluating the New 802.11ax WiFi Standard and What It Will Mean for Enterprises (commscope.com)
12  Certification | Wi-Fi Alliance
13  https://spectrum.ieee.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-wpa3
14  https://wlanprofessionals.com/updated-unlicensed-spectrum-charts/
15  IEEE 802.11ax-2021—IEEE Standard for Information Technology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange between Systems Local and Metropolitan Area Networks—Specific Requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications Amendment 1: Enhancements for High-Efficiency WLAN
16  IEEE 802.11, The Working Group Setting the Standards for Wireless LANs
17  IEEE P802.11—TASK GROUP BE (EHT)—GROUP INFORMATION UPDATE (ieee802.org)
18  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11be
19 As of this writing, these features are only hypothetical, and the IEEE can drop any feature before it reaches the final document.

Wi-Fi 7: Should I stay or should I go?

Wi-Fi 6E is enticing, but Wi-Fi 7 is just around the corner. Before upgrading to the newest technology, consider your organization’s budget cycle.

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