digiconsult wifi 6

WiFi 6: Future proof your enterprise with faster WiFi

WiFi 6 comes at a top speed of 9.6Gbps , 2-3 times faster than WiFi 5. But the real advantage lies in it’s ability to service more device requests simultaneously which prevents slowing down your entire network when more devices are added.

We live in a world of high information creation and consumption whether it’s at home, on the road or at office. This ever-increasing information transmission back and forth between end users and networks puts great pressure on technology infrastructure that supports it. Even at office it’s very rare that a user actually connect their computer or other device to a network using a cable with a default expectation of connecting via WiFi. Hence the heavy reliance on WiFi to provide a resilient, secure, high performance network connectivity. Since 1997 WiFi had gone through phases of transformation with a key focus of enhanced performance to cater to users demanding throughput and speed. The latest iteration of this transformation give us the new 6th generation standard in WiFi technology – WiFi 6 also known as “AX WiFi” or “802.11ax WiFi”. With an increasing uptake since it’s launch late last year (2019), WiFi 6 is expected to be the dominant WiFi standard across the globe by 2021.

Technologies used in wifi 6 and benefits

OFDMA : Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) enables an access point to simultaneously communicate with multiple devices by dividing each Wi-Fi channel into smaller sub-channels. With OFDMA multiple data packets can be delivered to multiple devices simultaneously whereas with 802.11ac (WiFi 5) WiFi could only deliver one data packet to one device at a time. This improves both uploads and downloads efficiency in WiFi 6 (802.11ax). Benefit: Faster network request fulfilment – Higher Productivity!
MU-MIMO: Multi User-Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MU-MIMO): MIMO allows a router to communicate with multiple devices simultaneously, at present with 802.11ac MU-MIMO allows to communicate with four devices, but Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) it allows up to twelve.  This gives between 8 to 12 streams for both uploads and downloads simultaneously. Whereas 802.11ac (WiFi 5) MU-MIMO only works for downloads. Benefit: Network request fulfilment of many more devices within a minute than previously possible – Higher Productivity!
BSS Colouring: in congested network with Wi-Fi interference, Wi-Fi 6 employs Base Service Station (BSS) Colouring to mark frames from neighbouring networks so those routers be ignore and identify devices and routers for a more stable connection. This helps mitigate overlapping Basic Service Sets allowing Wi-Fi 6 access points to accurately adjust Clear Channel Assessment parameters and signal detection. Benefit: Less interference and higher network performance – Higher Productivity!
TWT: Target Wake Time(TWT) enables devices to decide when and how long the device will be awake to send or receive data and how long between those times the device will go to sleep. Benefit: Carry important data over network chatter and Improves device battery life – Higher Productivity!
WPA3: In addition to the features on WPA2 , WiFi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) includes simplification of Wi-Fi security, more robust authentication, increased cryptographic strength, and maintain resiliency of mission critical networks. Benefit: More secure WiFi networks – Enhanced Security!

With COVID-19 outbreaks and increased number of users working remotely it is evermore important to explore ways to run organisations effectively. Due to this added global disruption and associated complexity the upgrades would need to be managed diligently to ensure that the entire network right down to the last remote employee stays compliant and secure. As organisations simply cannot afford to have disruptions to its vital digital infrastructure to get through this challenging period to the “other side” unscathed.

Let us help you

Contact us to explore how your organisation can benefit from WiFi 6 and to plot a path to future proof your network infrastructure right down to the last connected node.

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