The technology industry always brings up innovations. This time, we’ll talk about a matter that was trending a few months ago, and now is making a cameo: Wi-Fi 6. This is the new promise in terms of wireless networks.
Wi-Fi 6 is the next generation of the Wi-Fi that we already know, with the difference that this network can support many more connected devices with greater speed, less latency, more reliability and more security.
Have you ever tried using a Wi-Fi network in a stadium? Or during a concert? It’s quite difficult to achieve any stability, because, on average, a normal network supports around 250 devices. Now, with Wi-Fi 6 it is possible to have quality with more than a thousand devices connected simultaneously!
And when it comes to connected devices, it’s also about the Internet of Things, our favorite subject. 6. Therefore, we decided to talk a little bit more about Wi-Fi 6.
It’s not just quantity, it’s more quality
As we’ve already mentioned, in addition to the advantage of the number of devices, the Wi-Fi 6 network has another benefit: speed. This new standard brings an expressive advance in this direction. Today, we have Wi-Fi networks capable of supporting speeds of up to 3.5 Gbps. The new standard can reach 9.6 Gbps.
Imagine that! Quantity and quality in a single network. For a practical example, in a single house with Wi-Fi 6 network, it will be possible for someone to watch streaming on TV while another person plays online video games – both with excellent connection quality. Furthermore, with the Internet of Things, it will be possible to have several devices such as cameras, sensors and automation devices working on the same network.
Smart consumption and more security
Remember that not every device will be native to Wi-Fi 6. Like anything new, compatibility is needed. For a device compatible with a new standard router, battery consumption will be drastically reduced. That’s because this network offers an advanced Target Wake Time (TWT) feature, which allows better management of activity on the Wi-Fi network and, consequently, less battery consumption.
From a security standpoint, Wi-Fi 6 supports WPA3 – an encryption that is harder to crack. That is, we will have an improved layer of security.
One technology does not exclude the other
Okay, so will Wi-Fi 6 eliminate the Wi-Fi networks we know? Of course not, Wi-Fi 6 is an evolution of the current Wi-Fi technology and will be fully compatible.
We will still see many regular Wi-Fi networks being implemented, as these have a lower cost to run, maintain and even scale to a certain extent. On the other hand, for applications such as technology for smart cities, with indoor and outdoor IoT projects, Wi-Fi 6 networks will complement others, such as 5G (we have talked more about it before, check it out) or LoRaWAN (we´ve also talked about it, you can read the blog post here).
