Wi-Fi 6 ready for carrier network deployment

Wi-Fi 6 promises to deliver better throughput, lower latency, enhanced reliability and improved network efficiency.

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has announced the conclusion of five trial deployments of Wi-Fi 6 across diverse markets, showing that — with wider channels up to 160 MHz and capacity up to 9.6 Gbps — it can enable data rates nearly three times faster than Wi-Fi 5.

WBA says Wi-Fi 6 is now proven to deliver better reliability, lower latency, more deterministic behaviour and better network efficiency, especially in environments with many connected devices.

It will also help with congestion problems and increase densification of the network, helping to connect more devices, and enable new use cases.

The trials covering a range of different verticals and deployment scenarios to demonstrate the key capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 in live networks, establishing its readiness for carrier Wi-Fi deployments around the world… laying the foundation for deployment of Wi-Fi 6 in enterprises, homes, schools, transportation hubs and the IoT.

WBA members including network providers, infrastructure vendors and device vendors set up the trial environments and executed the test cases in end-to-end, real-life networks. The trials addressed the following deployment in key vertical markets:

Industrial manufacturing

Mettis Aerospace worked with Broadcom, Cisco, iBwave and Intel to deploy Wi-Fi 6 in a dense industrial environment with heavy metal, high temperatures and moving machinery, where previous generations of Wi-Fi did not perform well. The Wi-Fi 6 trial demonstrated much improved reliability, coverage, throughput and lower latency for supporting mission-critical applications.

High-density shopping centres

SK Telecom deployed Wi-Fi 6 to improve connectivity for consumers, increase quality of experience (QoE) for densely populated areas and provide high throughput for immersive media services. Wi-Fi 6 reduced latency by 80%, reduced throughput fluctuation and improved service reliability to customers anywhere, anytime, throughout the centre.

Single-family and multi-dwelling units

CableLabs, Intel and Kyrio deployed Wi-Fi 6 in a mixed-use residential area to increase the user experience in a Wi-Fi loaded network. In this trial, Wi-Fi 6 delivered a significant increase in throughput, enabling the delivery of multiple 4K video with higher quality.

Education in rural areas

C-DOT and Intel deployed Wi-Fi 6 in a rural school trial in India to enhance new learning technologies and improve signal coverage and streaming performance. Wi-Fi 6 improved throughput by more than 50% throughout the network.

Transportation hubs

In the US, Boingo, Cisco and Samsung worked together to launch Wi-Fi 6 at John Wayne Airport to power a next-generation connectivity experience and support airport operations. Following the SNA deployment, Boingo has moved its Wi-Fi 6 technologies from trials to commercial operations.

Most recently, Boingo announced an airport-wide commercial deployment of Wi-Fi 6 at São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, delivering fast speeds and low latency for passengers.

“These successful deployments prove the strength of Wi-Fi 6 technology to achieve better throughput, lower latency, enhanced reliability, improved network efficiency and better user experience,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO, WBA.

“Ultimately, they prove the readiness of Wi-Fi 6 for carrier deployments, and the WBA continues to develop and expand new trials that support Wi-Fi 6 and 6E expansion into new areas in different geographies around the world.”

In a recent WBA survey, it was found that more than 65% of members will have deployed Wi-Fi 6 by the end of 2021.

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