Wi-Fi 6 - The Latest Wireless Technology
The following points can help you quickly understand wifi 6:
What is Wi-Fi 6?
Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, expands on the 802.11ac standard. Wi-Fi 6 provides increased speed, flexibility, and scalability.
In fact, in 2017, Qualcomm Global launched the first Wi-Fi 6 network solution. By 2019, flagship phones of Samsung and Apple have also been equipped with WiFi 6.
WiFi 6 is the sixth generation of wireless communication technology, also called 802.11ax, but the previous 802.11xx name is more complicated, and the IEEE Standards Association changed it to a simpler form that is easier to understand.
| Old Name |
802.11b |
802.11a |
802.11g |
802.11n |
802.11ac |
802.11ax |
| New Name |
Wi-Fi 1 |
Wi-Fi 2 |
Wi-Fi 3 |
Wi-Fi 4 |
Wi-Fi 5 |
Wi-Fi 6 |
|
Why Wi-Fi 6?
The demand for wireless access is dramatically increasing, and the number and variety of devices and applications continue to grow. Wi-Fi 6 helps accommodate the growing number of mobile and IoT devices by increasing network efficiency and speed to better meet IT and business requirements.
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Compared with WiFi 5, WiFi 6 has some major advantages:
The first is speed. The theoretical maximum data throughput of WiFi 6 is 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s), while WiFi 5 has a theoretical maximum of 6.9 Gbps, which is an increase of more than 40%.
Secondly, the core technology of WiFi 6 is the introduction of MU-MIMO (multi-user-multiple input multiple output), so that one base station can serve multiple mobile terminals at the same time, which means that when a large number of devices are connected to the network, the problem of network congestion Can be relieved.
The second core technology is OFDMA (Spatial Multiplexing), which can send and receive data to multiple devices at once. In the past, FDMA was transmitted to multiple devices in sequence, and each transmission occupies all frequency bands, which means that the devices in the rear have to wait until WiFi 5 is like this, which is extremely wasteful of resources. OFDMA continues to subdivide the frequency band, allowing different devices to transmit data at the same time, no longer waiting in line, and making full use of resources.
The previous generations comparison:
| Generation |
WiFi 4 |
WiFi 5 |
WiFi 6 |
| Protocol |
802.11n |
802.11ac |
802.11ax |
| Released Date |
2009 |
2013 |
2018 |
| Frequency band |
2.4GHz, 5GHz |
5GHz |
2.4GHz, 5GHz |
Wi-Fi 6 also provides these features:
- Multi-user multiple input, multiple output (multi-user MIMO) allows more downlink data to be transferred at one time, enabling access points (APs) to concurrently handle more devices.
- Target Wake Time (TWT) significantly improves network efficiency and device battery life, including IoT devices.
- IoT handling operating mode for low-power, low-bandwidth devices like sensors, automation, and medical devices.
- WPA3 and Enhance Open to strengthen user privacy in open networks, simplify configuring security for headless IoT devices, and add higher levels of security to meet government, defense and industrial requirements.