In 2020, due to the breakout of the epidemic COVID-19, the world had been brought to a standstill in daily life and economic activities. However, Wi-Fi wireless communication technology was not interrupted by the epidemic. People’s lifestyle changed. Working from home, studying at home, remote video chat, and watching a lot of video streaming and online games have also made people more rely on Wi-Fi communication.
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Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) communication technology started in the market in 2018. By 2021, Wi-Fi 6 became the mainstream standard in the market. Wi-Fi 5 was to be the main Wi-Fi specifications for mid-to-low-end products, and Wi-Fi 4 is steadily moving towards IoT, Smart Home, Automation and other applications. In Jan. 2020, the Wi-Fi Alliance officially announced the opening of 6 GHz (5,925 MHz~7,125 MHz) and gave it a new name—Wi-Fi 6E. In April, the US FCC (Federal Communications Commission) also voted to open 6 GHz which was an unlicensed spectrum. They allowed it to be used for Wi-Fi. In addition to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Wi-Fi 6E can also operate in the 6 GHz band.
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In wireless communication, frequency spectrums are the most important and valuable resource. The larger frequency band is, the greater data can be transmitted. The faster transmission rate means the better efficiency. According to Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi 6E opens 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels. These additional channels do not overlap with each other. These new frequency bands and channels can help reduce the congestion of existing Wi-Fi frequency bands, especially in areas where different frequency bands exists and the same frequency band wireless networks operates at the same time, such as in schools, large shopping malls, and shopping streets, etc.
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Wi-Fi 6E can also provide “gigabyte transfer” with a latency of just 2 milliseconds. In the future, Wi-Fi 7 will likely continue to increase more features and become more reliable. In the both generation, 6 GHz band can support a variety of applications such as VR/AR headsets, 4K/8K streaming, low-latency gaming, high-speed wireless NAS network storage devices that requires a great amount of data transmission and ultra-low latency. Finally, the impact of COVID-19 brings the large demand of building a high-speed and highly stable and reliable wireless communication at home and in the infrastructure. More and More people would like to use Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, with 6 GHz function. They truly need a more intelligent Wi-Fi home network. By 2025, it is estimated that more than 75% of consumers and more than 90% of enterprise are expected to work with Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E standards.