How to decide if Wi-Fi 6 is right for you?

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the next Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ax, more commonly known as Wi-Fi 6. Typically, new technologies are built up by vendors as the “next big thing” and then fizzle out because they don’t live up to expectations. In the case of Wi-Fi 6, however, the frenzy is justified, as it’s the first Wi-Fi standard designed with the premise that Wi-Fi is the primary connection for devices rather than a convenience network.

Wi-Fi 6 is a different kind of Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 6 adds many features, such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), 1024-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) coding, and Target Wake Time (TWT), which make Wi-Fi faster and less congested. Many of these enhancements come from the LTE and 4G worlds, and these challenges were solved long ago. These new features will lead to better mobile experiences and longer client battery life, and will open the door to a wide range of applications that were not possible on Wi-Fi in the past. For example, architects can now use virtual reality (VR) to show houses over Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi 6 will not be ratified until 2019, but some commercial products are available now. All businesses should eventually deploy Wi-Fi 6, but many do not need to do so right away.

4 types of businesses should deploy Wi-Fi 6

• Customers currently running Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) and earlier. ZK Research estimates that up to 49% of enterprises are still running Wi-Fi 4 somewhere in their organization. This technology is nearly 10 years old and may cause major issues with application performance or reliability. These customers should skip Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and deploy Wi-Fi 6 instead. Deploying Wi-Fi 5 may result in the need for another upgrade in two to three years, while Wi-Fi 6 will remain in place for at least five years.
• Pioneering businesses that are first to adopt new technologies. Many businesses strive to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technology. Wi-Fi 6 will provide the best experience for their customers and internal employees, and this technology should be top of mind for these businesses. These businesses often exist in highly competitive industries, such as luxury retail and entertainment venues, where a poorly performing wireless network can quickly drive customers to another brand.
• Enterprises using high-bandwidth and immersive applications. Many enterprises have already integrated high-bandwidth applications into their business processes. Examples of this include VR as a customer service or collaboration tool, and high-definition video in enterprise workspaces and meeting rooms. The increased bandwidth of Wi-Fi 6 will ensure a better user experience.
• Enterprises that are building high-density wireless networks. This includes public venues, universities, stadiums, and theaters. These types of businesses often try to get usage data from users, so they require users to log in to the Wi-Fi. With older versions of Wi-Fi, the network would quickly become saturated, causing people to switch to LTE. Use cases like these are difficult to achieve with older versions, but are possible with Wi-Fi 6.

3 steps to prepare for Wi-Fi 6

• Make sure the wired network is refreshed. Wi-Fi 6 will have a cascading effect on the campus core. The increased bandwidth will saturate the wired edge, and upgrades there will have a similar impact on the core. The main features required for the wired network are 30 watts of Ethernet power (PoE+), multigigabit interfaces (1/2.5/5 GigE), and 40 GigE core uplinks. At the same time, unified management is a must. This enables security and access policies to be managed from a single dashboard and propagated across both wired and wireless networks. It’s important to remember that the wireless experience is only as good as the wired backbone.
• Implement AI operations management. Wi-Fi 6 enables enterprises to be hyper-connected, with nearly everything connected to a common network. This will enable enterprises to create new processes that will take productivity to new heights. The downside of hyper-connectivity is that complexity will go through the roof. A recent ZK Research survey found that 61% of enterprises lacked or had no confidence that they knew about all the devices on their network. This problem will only get worse as more things are connected. People can’t see everything fast enough and find insights from the data, but machines can. AI-based operations tools are necessary for Wi-Fi 6 to succeed.
• Connect enterprise networks to IoT-specific networks. Many vertical industries have closed networks for specific business functions. Examples include electronic shelf label networks in retail, student management in K-12, and radiology networks in hospitals. Digital transformation and the Internet of Things (IoT) will eventually converge these networks. Network professionals should be prepared for this by understanding the scale of these networks, the protocols used (such as BLE and Zigbee), and the security implications.

However, many IT professionals worry that they may be jumping the gun on Wi-Fi 6 because no phones or devices have the new chip built into them. However, it is better to put the right network in place before Wi-Fi 6 endpoints appear rather than react quickly when they do. In the meantime, Wi-Fi 5 and earlier endpoints will work fine.

Wi-Fi 6 is coming, and IT leaders need to understand if this technology is right for them. If it is, then it is important to start the education process now and prepare for the upgrade. If the preparation is done correctly, the deployment should be smooth.