The wireless access is one of the fastest evolving technologies. The newest innovation is called WIFI 6E. it is a massive upgrade in every aspect when comparing it to its predecessor WIFI 6.
A large problem that people are having with WIFI is the fact that the number of channels is low, which means when connecting more devices to the network it becomes over crowded, leading to slower internet speed, latency and interference. Therefore, it isn’t optimal for firms and people with larger networks in their household. This is where WIFI 6E comes into play, because of the change of frequency there was an improvement in the number of channels that are available by almost 2x.
How was this accomplished? This was accomplished by increasing the frequency that the router emits, from 5 GHz to 6GHz. Therefore, making room for extra channels, increasing the number of 20 MHz channels from 25 to 59, 40MHz from 12 to 29, 80 MHz from 6 to 14 and 160 MHz from 2 to 7. Since, there are more channels available the latency that people were experiencing has been reduced by 75%, and what comes with that? Faster WIFI.
Another benefit of increasing the frequency is that the overall speed of the WIFI is faster, with a 25% increase of speed between WIFI 6 and WIFI 6E. Moreover, larger amount of data can be transferred, and the problem of buffering has been eliminated.
The routers that the new WIFI uses has also been changed. In the new generation routers, there is an extra channel which is only dedicated for transferring data from one router to the other, with no disruption from other device. Adding to that, because of this change “Self-Healing” technology has been added, which means that when one of the routers goes offline, data is instantly rerouted via other routers to keep you online. Through these changes you are able to have fast WIFI all around your house without the need for ethernet cables. Just connect one of the routers to ethernet, others just to power, let them connect to each other and let technology do its magic. Another addition to the routers is new technology and software’s, they can see what device needs the most internet, then they allocate more of the use to that device, in a way that other devices aren’t impacted. Moreover, when a device isn’t using the WIFI, the routers sees that and put its internet to “sleep”, freeing up space for others and saving battery life of the device that isn’t in use. Additionally, a Mesh system has been also implemented to the routers. This means whilst walking through the house your device changes to what router its connected to without any inconvenience, helping you maintain the fastest connection.
Having installed WIFI 6E in my house, I have seen a rapid speed increase of internet throughout all devices, but especially PC’s with over a 2x increase in the download speed. Furthermore, the power of the signal from the routers is much higher, I haven’t seen a decrease in signal anywhere in my house, even through walls and ceilings. But never forget this technology cost a premium, compared to its predecessors.
Feel free to comment what do you think about WIFI 6E, have you upgraded to it? Or have any questions for a user of this new technology. I look forward to seeing your comments.
Bibliography
LINK, T. (2022). WIFI 6E MESH. Retrieved from TP LINK: https://www.tp-link.com/pl/wifi6/wifi-6e-mesh/
Tablan, P. (2022, July 29). Wi-Fi 6/6E: 5 Advantages & 4 Challenges It Can’t Solve On Its Own. Retrieved from kelsercorp: https://www.kelsercorp.com/blog/top-benefits-wi-fi-6
SUPPORT, N. (2022, 06 12). What is the difference between WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E? Retrieved from NETGEAR: https://kb.netgear.com/000062799/What-is-the-difference-between-WiFi-6-and-WiFi-6E
Badman, L. (2021, April). Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 6E: Spectrum, not hype, is key difference. Retrieved from TECHTARGET: https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Wi-Fi-6-vs-Wi-Fi-6E-Spectrum-not-hype-is-key-difference
INTEL. (2022). Wi-Fi 6E: Like No Wi-Fi You’ve Experienced Before. Retrieved from INTEL: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/wireless/wi-fi-6e.html
Wi-Fi technology has evolved significantly since it was first introduced. It has become faster, more reliable, and more widely available. Some of the key developments in the evolution of Wi-Fi are introduction of new frequency, the use of more advanced encoding techniques, and the development of new wireless networking standards.
Personally, I ordered a Wi-Fi 6E router after reading this article, because mine has become an ancient technology, which offers a deadly speed of 20mbps of download, and quite high latency.
That is why, I wanted to thank you for providing a complete overview this refreshed piece of tech !