As industries and technologies grow, so does the list of IoT devices found in offices, homes, and sensor networks. Each of these new devices brings an increasing amount of wireless traffic to a Wi-Fi network, and there is a point where congestion can become a real issue for connection performance. The most recent iteration of WLAN networks, Wi-Fi 6E, helps solve this problem with access to the uncrowded and superfast frequency range of 6 GHz.
So, what is Wi-Fi 6E, and how exactly does it benefit the world of IoT?
What is Wi-Fi 6E?
Wi-Fi 6E is part of the most recent 802.11ax WLAN network, otherwise known as Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 6 & 6E were introduced in 2019 and 2020 and are successors to the previous 802.11ac network. Wi-Fi 6 and 6E present a list of upgrades when compared to its predecessor which include faster speeds, greater bandwidth and better performance in high density scenarios.
Wi-Fi 6E is a version of 802.11ax that functions on the 6 GHz frequency band as opposed to the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands that Wi-Fi 6 operates on. This is significant as the 6 GHz spectrum offers more than double the usable channels of 2.4 & 5 GHz combined, enabling an extremely wide spectrum for devices to connect to.
What are the features of Wi-Fi 6E?
Wi-Fi 6E introduces the first iteration of using 6 GHz frequency bands for Wi-Fi. This is revolutionary for the WLAN connections as both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands have been crowded with an exponential number of devices for over a decade. 6E now offers a wide new spectrum for devices to use that is on the ultra-fast 6 GHz frequency band. Not only does this dramatically reduce the level of interference between devices using Wi-Fi 6E, but there is far greater device capacity support on a single network AP (access point) or router.
Further features of Wi-Fi 6E include considerable speed boosts and significant reduction to latency. As 6E functions on the 6 GHz band, it offers lightning fast speeds at up to 1 Gbps at a latency lower than 1ms. All of these factors come together to make Wi-Fi 6E a leader in WLAN networks for a wide range of applications and IoT devices.
How does Wi-Fi 6E benefit IoT?
As Wi-Fi 6E operates on the 6 GHz, it offers up to seven additional 160 MHz channels for devices to use on a single AP. As the world of IoT devices grows as it has in recent years, this vast bandwidth potential is invaluable across a wide range of industries.
Wi-Fi 6E enables manufacturers to support a huge amount of industrial IoT devices across a factory on a single network, making it simple to manage said devices at a single AP without the risk of traffic or congestion on the network. The fast speeds and low latency of Wi-Fi 6E also allows industrial IoT devices to perform precise tasks at a huge scale.
Wi-Fi 6E has seamless integration for smart offices and home environments that consist of a wide range of IoT devices that all need to be connected under a single network. In an office, 6E enables the real-time transfer of huge amounts of data whilst simultaneously supporting multiple high definition video calls for meetings. At home, 6E allows for the synchronisation of IoT devices to function cooperatively, such as real-time video streaming with security cameras without congesting the network.
Integrating Wi-Fi 6E into your IoT device
Even with the exciting capabilities and features that Wi-Fi 6E offers, It is far from being widespread and easily integratable; Wi-Fi 5 is still very much the norm for most IoT devices, so understanding the steps involved in Wi-Fi 6E antenna integration is paramount to getting the most out of your device.
At Antenova, we offer a range of resources and guides to ensure you can integrate the right antenna for your device. Click below to use our antenna selection and placement tool to choose the right antenna based on your PCB size, technologies and preferred layout.
