Wi-Fi alliance
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The Wi-Fi Alliance has launched its Wi-Fi 6E certification program for devices equipped to transmit signals on the newly opened 6GHz band, the industry group announced on Thursday. The move occurs just in time CES 2021, and sets the scene for a flood of new devices that the next generation can use a massive range of additional bandwidth at the fastest speeds that Wi-Fi is currently capable of.
These speeds come by way of Wi-Fi 6, which started rolling out in 2019 as the latest and greatest version of Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi 6E builds on the standard without replacing it directly by adding access to the 6 GHz band, which the FCC has opened up for unlicensed use. last year in a unanimous vote.
With enough spectrum to accommodate seven 160 MHz channels simultaneously, the 6 GHz band is much wider than the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands that most Wi-Fi users are familiar with – and without older generation devices slowing things down, it will act as an exclusive highway for devices equipped to take advantage.
“Wi-Fi 6E will be rapidly adopted in 2021 with more than 338 million devices entering the market, and nearly 20 percent of all Wi-Fi 6 device transmissions supporting 6 GHz by 2022,” said Phil Solis, research director at IDC, said. “This year we expect that in the first quarter of 2021 there will be new Wi-Fi 6E disk sets from various companies and a range of new Wi-Fi 6E smartphones, computers and laptops, followed by TVs and VR product announcements. “
With Wi-Fi 6E standards now incorporated into Wi-Fi Certified 6, the Wi-Fi Alliance hopes to speed up the process by ensuring that new 6E devices remain secure and fully interoperable, regardless of region or region. manufacturer.
“Consumers take the belief that if you buy a Wi-Fi device, it will connect to your router,” said Kevin Robinson, a spokesman for the Wi-Fi Alliance. “The reason this is actually the case is because of Wi-Fi Certified. The industry places a lot of value on getting devices through the test, so the ultimate experience is that everything works together.”
In addition to interoperability, Wi-Fi Certified also focuses on standardizing security protocols. For example, with Wi-Fi 6E, devices are needed to support the latest protocol, WPA3, which promises better defense against attempts to force your network password, including enhancements.
“This is an opportunity for a clean break of the legacy requirements of the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands,” Robinson said. “In the 6 GHz band, WPA3 is the only option.”
Industry members of the Wi-Fi Alliance – many of whom are showcasing their own Wi-Fi 6E devices at CES this year – have garnered praise along the way, and some call it an important milestone not only for Wi-Fi 6, but for Wi-Fi in general.
“Wi-Fi Alliance certification programs are essential to ensure confidence around the interoperability of Wi-Fi devices,” said Eric McLaughlin, VP, Client Computing Group, of Intel Corporation. GM, Wireless Solutions Group. ‘New Wi-Fi 6E feature is one of the most important advances in recent wireless history and is critical to address the growing demand for capacity, broadband access and new uses.’
You can expect to see a steady stream of names jumping on the Wi-Fi 6E bandwagon to meet demand in 2021. One of the first, as far as phones are concerned, is probably Samsung. The Korean conglomerate was an early adopter of Wi-Fi 6 with its Galaxy S10 line-up, and it’s also one of the first to accept Wi-Fi 6E.
“As a leading innovator of mobile experiences, we were one of the very first to offer Wi-Fi Certified 6 products,” said JM Choi, vice president and group head of Convergence R&D Group, Samsung Electronics, . “[We] is looking forward to introducing new Galaxy devices that can take advantage of the increased speeds, reduced latency and extended bandwidth that will soon be connected to frequencies in the 6 GHz band. ‘