As we all officially put 2020 behind us and usher in the new year, there is already exciting news in the Wi-Fi world.
Earlier this week, the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced its new certification for Wi-Fi 6E, which will signal which Wi-Fi 6 devices can operate in the 6 GHz band of spectrum. This move from the Wi-Fi Alliance comes in the wake of last year’s decision by the FCC to open 1,200 MHz of 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi use in the United States. Similar decisions in countries like the U.K., Brazil, Argentina and South Korea show that the global regulatory environment is ready for a new supercharged Wi-Fi standard. In taking this action on Thursday, the Wi-Fi Alliance is making good on their commitment to make certification for Wi-Fi 6E products available as the spectrum becomes available.
Along with the 5.9 GHz band (which experienced some serious wins in 2020), 6 GHz is seen as truly the “next frontier” for Wi-Fi. Per Phil Solis, research director at IDC, “Wi-Fi 6E will see rapid adoption in 2021 with more than 338 million devices entering the market, and nearly 20 percent of all Wi-Fi 6 device shipments supporting 6 GHz by 2022.” Wi-Fi 6E unlocks the full set of Wi-Fi 6 features and will greatly advance the next generation of wireless communications and networking.
Taking advantage of the 1.2 GHz of new Wi-Fi spectrum, Wi-Fi 6E will provide greater speeds, guaranteed low latency and high capacity for the cutting-edge devices. This means things like unified communications, cloud computing, AR/VR, telepresence and more — applications on both the enterprise level and the consumer level We will soon see a plethora of Wi-Fi 6E phones, PCs, IoT devices and routers available on the market. For more details on the potential innovation related to 6 GHz and Wi-Fi 6E, take a look at this video from the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Though the year is young yet, this step from the Wi-Fi Alliance is a great sign for the future of connectivity, Wi-Fi and connected devices in an increasingly connected world.