WBA releases Wi-Fi 6 guidelines

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released a white paper to prepare operators, enterprises and cities for the next generation of Wi-Fi technology, anticipated to be released later this year. The paper provides deployment scenarios for Wi-Fi 6, including public venues, stadiums, residential and multi-dwelling units, the Internet of Things and enterprise WLANs.

WBA’s white paper illustrates that astute deployment of Wi-Fi 6 can mitigate some of the issues that Wi-Fi is experiencing, while ensuring that operators, enterprises and vendors meet important service-level agreements, such as those relating to bandwidth, throughput, latency and traffic prioritisation.

WBA General Manager Tiago Rodrigues said, “Since its inception 20 years ago, Wi-Fi has become a fundamental expectation for consumers and enterprises alike.

“This latest white paper comes at a crucial time; not only is global demand for Wi-Fi continuing unabated, but operators worldwide are ramping up 5G networks, and governmental authorities around the world are preparing to open 6 GHz spectrum to Wi-Fi traffic,” he said.

“[Our] announcement illustrates the dedication of the WBA and its member companies to providing timely, expert direction to ensure that Wi-Fi deployments successfully accommodate all of these global factors.”

Accuris Networks CTO Finbarr Coghlan commented, “As we work with mobile and broadband operators around the world, the need for high-capacity Wi-Fi continues to be a major driver.

“Wi-Fi 6 addresses a number of critical requirements being driven by user experience and service delivery demands, including connecting to more devices simultaneously, interference management and reduced power consumption, which dramatically improves battery life for mobile and IoT devices.

“Accuris is excited to work with our Wi-Fi equipment partners to realise these benefits to further improve enterprise and IoT applications over Wi-Fi,” Coghlan said.

GlobalReach Technology Managing Director and WBA Board Member Chris Bruce said that enterprises such as hotels and retail can use Wi-Fi 6 to build carrier-grade infrastructure to complement 5G.

“Deploying Wi-Fi 6 alongside Hotspot 2.0/NGH allows venue owners to control their entire user experience. This next generation of Wi-Fi will also allow these venues to negotiate mobile data offload access to their infrastructure on equal terms with cellular operators,” he said.

Click here to download the Wi-Fi 6 Deployment Guidelines.

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