Wi-Fi guidelines 6 aim to help operators deal with mobile traffic

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released deployment guidelines for mobile operators, as well as businesses and providers, ahead of the launch of Wi-Fi 6 later this year.

Wi-Fi 6 is the first generation of wireless broadband to adopt a more user-friendly nomenclature, similar to the 4G or 5G, rather than the more technical system that has seen the previous standards be nicknamed "802.11ac".

Among other things, Wi-Fi 6 should offer faster speeds and greater capacity, with the wireless industry positioning it as a complementary technology to 5G that can help businesses and communications providers cope the growing volume of data traffic.

Wi-Fi 6

According to the WBA, this will help meet customer demand and all service level agreements. However, Wi-Fi 6 is also an attempt to ensure that wireless broadband is not discarded in favor of 5G.

According to the WBA, the number of compatible Wi-Fi devices now rises to 9 billion, more than one for every inhabitant of the planet. Business data traffic is expected to grow from 33 exabytes to 63 exabytes by 2022.

The new guidelines published by the organization – and developed with members such as BT, Broadcom and Cisco – aim to provide a consistent framework for Wi-Fi deployments 6 in high density areas such as stadiums, buildings and buildings. and public places.

There are also provisions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and business networks.

Areas covered include RF planning and design, MU-MIMO, tape compatibility and backward compatibility with previous generations of Wi-Fi.

"Since its inception 20 years ago, Wi-Fi has become a fundamental expectation for consumers and businesses," said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of WBA.

"Not only is global demand for Wi-Fi not slowing, but operators around the world are strengthening 5G networks and government authorities around the world are preparing to open the 6GHz spectrum to Wi-Fi traffic.

"Today's announcement demonstrates the dedication of the WBA and its member companies to provide timely and expert leadership to ensure that Wi-Fi deployments successfully address all of these global factors."

Many operators around the world are now focusing on building converged networks that include fixed, mobile and wireless connectivity. The idea is that the end user is seamlessly connected, regardless of the technology. Wi-Fi 6 should be a major badet for these efforts.