Wifi is not an unfamiliar term in this time of the 21st century. This technology has helped us a lot with many stuff like jobs that include connections of multiple devices, surfing the Internet including other relevant tasks.
This amazing wireless networking technology makes the usage of radio wave signals to avail wireless high-speed Internet and network connections. Wi-Fi is just a branded phrase that stands for IEEE 802.11x.
Wifi connectivity is very much convenient as it encourages users to access network resources from near about any convenient location within the boundary of their primary networking.
With the evolution of wireless connection technology users have the power to access the Internet outside their usual working habitat. There are many shops, restaurants, hotels, and even railway stations that offer the people a wireless connection to the internet at little or no cost.
People who are connected to a wifi network have the ability to keep up a nearly constant alliance with their coveted network as they move from place to place. This shows that an employee can be much more productive because his or her job can be completed literally from any location.
This technology can serve a number of users by using only one device that serves the wireless connection. This is very much like the wired networking system as it costs much more than a wireless network and also saves a lot of space.
The Advancement of Wireless Technology
Wifi technology is getting more and more developed since it was first put to use. Now, the brand new wifi 6 is arriving this year with more features and more ease.
This wifi category is the next-generation wireless standard which is much faster than the standard 802.11ac.
Not only the speed but the performance will also be improving in areas that are very dense or places that do not get the full advantage of wireless technology even after there is a prominent presence of a strong wifi network.
From shopping malls to your cute little smart home, wifi 6 is coming to set the wireless networking technology on fire.
Wifi Generations: We Have Come Across so Far
You might already know that the versions of wifi networks are denoted by numbers followed by letters. These versions actually denote the standard of the wifi speed.
Here are the versions of wifi that people have used and are using now.
- Wifi 1, as the name says, is the very first version of wifi network. It is 802.11b and was released in the year 1999.
- Wifi 2 was also released in the year 1999 and it would have been 802.11a.
- The 3rd version would have been 802.11g and this version was released in the year 2003.
- Wifi 4 which is 802.11n. It set out in the market of wireless technology back in the year 2009.
- Wifi 5 which is 802.11ac. This version was released in the year 2014 and this version is the one we commonly use nowadays as it provides the highest wireless networking speed.
- Now, this year the launch of Wifi 6 is going to take place. This version is actually 802.11ax. This wireless standard is now considered to be the best in the ground of speed.
Who Developed this Amazing Technology?
Developers from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the largest association of developers in the world, came up with the 6th generation of wireless technology.
The only aim of the IEEE is to forge ahead technology for the benefit of human beings. Basically, the IEEE is the keeper of Wifi and it has committees who develop it and set up industry standards.
The latest wifi standard will offer you a faster speed in the transfer of data. If you are using only one device by connecting it with this latest wifi network, you will get to experience a speed that is 40% higher than the speed offered by Wifi 5.
Wifi 6 made certain things become possible: more efficient data encoding that generally results in higher throughput. The main thing is, more amount of data is stuffed into the same radio signals.
The chips encode and decode data these radio wave signals. They keep on becoming more and more well-fortified.
Wifi 6 has the wireless standard that has the capability of increasing the speeds on 2.4 GHz networks. Now, the speed has become 5GHz for lower interference. But, the speed of 2.4 GHz is still better for piercing through solid substances.
What Actually makes Wifi 6 so Fast?
The two major technologies that have helped Wifi 6 to be the fastest wireless network provider are MU-MIMO and OFDMA respectively.
MU-MIMO is the acronym for the term “multi-user, multiple inputs, multiple outputs”. It is already an application in the routers that are being made now. This is a technology that will allow the router to interact with various pieces of equipment right at the same time.
Presently, MU-MIMO permits the routers to be in touch with four devices at the same time. Wifi 6 will be able to communicate with eight devices at the same time.
Kevin Robinson is the marketing leader of the Wifi Alliance, a global technology industry group that supervises the application of wireless connection technology.
He says that you can think of adjoining MU-MIMO connections just like sticking delivery trucks to a group of associated vehicles. He stated – “You can send each of those trucks in different directions to different customers.” Kevin Robertson also added that “Before, you had four trucks to fill with goods and send to four customers. With Wi-Fi 6, you can now possess eight such trucks.”
The other key technology, OFDMA, is the short form of orthogonal frequency division multiple access. This technology encourages one transmission to deliver data to several devices at one and the same time.
Robertson said, relating to the metaphor on the truck, that in essence to OFDMA authorizes one truck to carry goods to be delivered to various locations.
Robertson added that “With OFDMA, the network can look at a truck, see ‘I’m only allocating 75 percent of that truck and this other customer is kind of on the way’” and the next thing is to fill up that left space with the conveyance for the next client.
Extension of Battery life with Wifi 6
One of the most highlighting points about Wifi 6 is it can extend the battery life of the router. It is usually the matter because it reduces the amount of measure of time they demand to keep the antennas switched on to transfer and scan for signals. This certainly benefits to keep the battery run for a longer period of time.
Target Wake Time is the key feature that is responsible for extended battery life as it lets routers schedule check-in times with devices.
More Secure Network
WPA3 is the brand new security protocol that gave Wifi the biggest security update in this decade.
This security protocol ahs made it tougher for the cybercriminals or the hackers to extract passwords and other information just on the basis of guesswork. The data that the hackers get to obtain become useless.
Although it is optional many of the current routers and devices are supportive of WPA3. WPA3 is very necessary for Wifi 6 and the reason is to get a certification from Wifi Alliance.
As a consequence, most of the gadgets that will be serving Wifi 6 will be comprised of the sturdier security right after the certification program takes off.
Devices with Wifi 6
Devices that will be having support for Wifi 6 are just starting to set their first steps in the market. Wifi 6 is available now and you can own one too but the thing is it has come up with a very high cost.
There are many laptops that can use this Wifi as well but the thing is it is not very much available as it is very new.
Smartphones will be releasing this year which will carry the support for this version of Wifi. Snapdragon 855, Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor, comprises of the pillar for wifi 6. Samsung Galaxy S10 is one of those phones having the backbone for wifi 6.
Concluding Note
So, that was all I had to say about Wifi 6 along with its features and benefits. Hopefully, you got to know enough about the latest wireless technology from this piece.