CES is the premier global stage for new technology. Each year, industry-leading innovators flock to Las Vegas to showcase some of the most influential advancements in technology, transportation, artificial intelligence, robotics, and telecommunications. This year, both industry leaders and regulators introduced new Wi-Fi innovations and expressed the need for more spectrum for Wi-Fi use.
Photo Courtesy of CES®
Just prior to the start of the conference, the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced Wi-Fi 6E, a class of Wi-Fi capable of operating in the 6 GHz band once it is made available for unlicensed use. “6 GHz will help address the growing need for Wi-Fi spectrum capacity to ensure Wi-Fi users continue to receive the same great user experience with their devices,” said Edgar Figueroa, the CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Alliance is introducing Wi-Fi 6E now to ensure the industry aligns on common terminology, allowing Wi-Fi users to identify devices that support 6 GHz operation as the spectrum becomes available.” This served as a signal to the FCC that the industry is ready to take advantage of more Wi-Fi spectrum as soon as possible.
Broadcom wasted no time taking advantage of this new designation and on Tuesday introduced its Wi-Fi 6E chip that enables super-fast Wi-Fi 6 for residential use. Comcast also introduced its own router – the xFi Advanced Gateway. This high speed, Wi-Fi 6 powered router will bring super-fast wireless connectivity to residential Xfinity subscribers. Routers powered by Wi-Fi 6 can reach speeds of up to 1,500Mbps, which is about 30% faster than the fastest previous-gen, Wi-Fi 5 routers.
Wi-Fi 6 — and particularly Wi-Fi 6E — will revolutionize the home Wi-Fi experience, allowing for faster top speeds and more efficient performance. They will also open the door to a host of exciting benefits like more advanced augmented and virtual reality, and lightning-fast 4K streaming right from your living room.
And we saw many Wi-Fi-connected gadgets ready to take advantage of wide spectrum channels in the 6 GHz band. CES 2020 introduced the next generation of AR and VR. The 6 GHz band offers contiguous spectrum blocks to accommodate 160 MHz channels, which are required for high-bandwidth apps like AR/VR and 4K video. Wi-Fi 6 was designed to support these cutting-edge apps.
FCC leadership also expressed support for more Wi-Fi spectrum. During a Tuesday fireside chat with Consumer Technology Association (CTA) President and CEO Gary Shapiro, Chairman Ajit Pai explained the importance of opening up more unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi and laid out possible benefits that would come from advances such as Wi-Fi 6. “We’ve recently adopted a proposal to look at the 5.9 GHz band, allocating 35 megahertz more of spectrum in the lower part of that band, and we have an initiative on 6 GHz looking at a 1200 megahertz swath…It’s unimaginable what the benefits could be, AR/VR, for example, and other advanced services we can’t even conceive today.” The Chairman also touched on what he believes the FCC’s role is in encouraging future wireless innovation, stating, “our goal is to remove spectrum as one of the constraints on unlicensed innovation so that 20 years from now when we’re sitting here, we’re going to look back at this time as the ‘Stone Age’ of Wi-Fi.”
In a separate panel, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks discussed the need to bridge the digital divide and explained how opening up unlicensed spectrum — particularly the 5.9 GHz band — could increase online access. He cited the ability of the band “ to help with Wi-Fi congestion. He also stated, “I think it’s going to be able to help out in a lot of cities with folks who are low income and folks who use a lot of public Wi-Fi.”
FCC commissioners weren’t the only ones talking spectrum or unveiling new plans surrounding Wi-Fi this year. CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro penned an op-ed Wednesday in which he called on regulators to fuel consumer tech by freeing up more unlicensed spectrum.
CES has introduced the world to countless revolutionary technologies over the past several decades, such as the DVD, the camcorder, satellite radio, and 3D printers. This year, new developments surrounding Wi-Fi promise to make 2020 an exciting year for online connectivity.