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In preparation for the impending release of next-generation WiFi technology later this year, the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released a white paper that provides deployment guidelines for a number of possible scenarios utilising the WiFi 6 technology.
This is the first step in operators, enterprises and cities getting the required tools needed to embrace and deploy WiFi 6 when it’s released later this year.
According to a press release by the WBA, the dependence on WiFi continues to grow exponentially, driven by a number of factors:
- The number of WiFi devices in the world – 9 billion – now outnumbers the 7.6 billion people on the planet.
- Global enterprises this year will generate more than 33 billion exabytes of IP traffic. By 2022, that number will grow to more than 63 billion exabytes of IP traffic, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23 percent.
- WiFi is the primary access technology in most broadband households, with 76 per cent of US households using WiFi as the primary broadband connection.
Founded in 2003, the not-for-profit WBA’s is to drive seamless, inter-operable service experiences via WiFi within the global wireless ecosystem. WBA’s mission is to enable collaboration between service providers, technology companies and organisations to achieve that vision. WBA undertakes programs and activities to address business and technical issues, as well as opportunities, for member companies.
As per the new WBA white paper, the savvy deployment of WiFi 6 can “mitigate some of the growing pains that Wi-Fi is experiencing, while ensuring that operators, enterprises and vendors meet important service-level agreements (SLAs).” As such, the work released today proposes guidelines to ensure SLAs around bandwidth, throughput, latency, traffic prioritisation and numerous other factors, said the WBA.
The paper also provides guidelines for RF planning and design, with consideration given to factors like band steering, MU-MIMO and adjusting for high-density deployments that demand increased capacity. Additionally, today’s release addresses ways that WiFi 6 deployments can provide seamless mobility and backward compatibility with previous WiFi generation technology.
“Since its inception 20 years ago, WiFi has become a fundamental expectation for consumers and enterprises alike,” said Tiago Rodrigues, General Manager, WBA, in a written statement.
This latest white paper comes at a crucial time; not only is global demand for WiFi continuing unabated, but operators worldwide are ramping up 5G networks, and governmental authorities around the world are preparing to open 6GHz spectrum to WiFi traffic.
To that end, the paper provides a number of deployment scenarios for WiFi 6, including public venues, stadiums, residential and multi-dwelling units, the Internet of Things (IoT) and enterprise WLANs. Today’s release was developed in conjunction with WBA’s Next Gen WiFi Work Group develop, including operator representatives from Boingo Wireless, BT and Charter Communications, as well as vendor representatives from Broadcom, Cisco and CommScope.
The latest report, WiFi 6 Deployment Guidelines, is available to download here.