There is little doubt that Internet connectivity has changed our lives forever.
Let’s look back at The History of Wi-Fi and Why NOW is the time to invest in WIFI 6.
The term Wi-Fi was first coined by the Wi-Fi Alliance in April 2000. Since then, they claim, over 15 billion devices have been equipped with Wi-Fi technology. The evolution of Wi-Fi networks has been to support high-capacity access to the users without interruption or packet loss. Over the past two decades, businesses have seen a significant increase in the number of people relying on wireless connectivity to perform various tasks and communicate with each other. Even at home, our needs have drastically increased from a “luxury” to a necessity.
You may have heard by now that
Wi-Fi 6 is upon us,
why should you care?
The use of Wi-Fi technology can help small and medium-sized businesses succeed in today’s hostile and competitive environment. It can boost their productivity and provide them with a competitive advantage by allowing them to connect to their customers and employees in a way that’s both convenient and effective.
Wi-Fi 6 can also handle more devices at once compared to Wi-Fi 5 and will keep speed and latency more consistently even under heavy load. Most of the latest Android and iPhones you can buy today support Wi-Fi 6 and allow for up to 1,200Mbps speeds compared to Wi-Fi 5’s typical 867Mbps.
At the Ofice… and Home?
Wi-Fi-compatible devices have seen tremendous growth over the years. Our workplaces stand to benefit from the influx of internet-ready appliances such as printers, scanners, air conditioners, and so much more.
You also need to consider the way your employees work today. The use of voice over IP (VoIP) as well as video for real-time communication has increased exponentially. This means you need to be providing a level of usability where your users aren’t experiencing jitter, lag, or becoming completely frozen on both audio and video.
Our workforces are more mobile, bandwidth-demanding, and need high-speed Wi-Fi to empower their work further.
so… let’s explain…
Wi-Fi 6 has made advancements in the number of antennas it can support, using a maximum configuration of 8×8:8. More antennas allow for more concurrent communication, improving speeds, and even allowing multiple users to “talk” at the same time (MU-MIMO functionality). Older standards and APs (Access Points) were limited to one user “talking” at a time.
What about Increased speeds
One big difference is speed. Wi-Fi 6 can reach up to 9.6 Gbps. This is a lot faster than Wi-Fi 4 and 5 1.2Gbps technology. Your Netflix movies will stream faster, your download speed will be faster, and you’ll have an easier time gaming when using Wi-Fi 6.
Since most people keep their routers for years and may upgrade their phones or computers multiple times before getting a new router, it’s best to get a router that’s ready for the future. Thankfully, Wi-Fi 6 routers have come down in price and are finally ready for mainstream users.
Internet of Things (IoT)
and backward compatible
The latest version of Wi-Fi, known as Wi-Fi 6, has brought a variety of technical enhancements to industrial and smart-home applications. One of these is its wake-up time protocols, which allow devices to automatically wake up when they’re not in use. This eliminates the need for the network to maintain a steady supply of bandwidth, which could lead to longer battery life in sensors.
Target wake time (TWT) is a Wi-Fi 6 innovation that allows devices to schedule communication with the router so that they aren’t always connected.
This allows for a cleaner, electric-cable-free office or home IoT network by extending the battery life of smartphones, tablets, and Wi-Fi 6 compatible internet of things devices.
If you wish to upgrade or add WI-Fi 6 devices to an existing network, you’re set.
Laptops, cellphones, and other WI-F-enabled devices running prior WI-Fi versions will all be able to connect to your new WI-Fi 6 network without issue.
Your Wi-Fi 6 network will get quicker and more responsive as you upgrade these devices over time. It’s important to remember, though, that in order to truly appreciate Wi-Fi 6, you’ll need to connect to the network with Wi-Fi 6 compatible devices and have a good, stable, and fast Internet Connection.
