5G has nothing to do with WiFi

A quick note: the Wi-Fi that all of our connected devices run every day has nothing to do with so-called “5G.” Even the new Wi-Fi standard (the yet-to-be-completed 802.11ax) has nothing to do with 5G.

What you need to understand is that 5G, like LTE, is a mobile standard from 3GPP. Currently, there is only one standard for 5G, which was released in December last year as 5G NR (NSA). This standard has nothing to do with Wi-Fi at all, it is just an add-on component for existing 4G/LTE networks.

In fact, Wi-Fi standards are not owned, controlled, or even influenced by 3GPP or any related part of the 5G community. Wi-Fi standards are created by the IEEE 802.11 task group, and Wi-Fi devices are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

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However, some organizations in the industry are deliberately confusing the two concepts in order to confuse the industry into thinking that Wi-Fi is part of 5G. They may do so for the following very obvious reasons:

Wi-Fi is so successful that by tricking the industry into thinking that Wi-Fi is part of 5G, they are hijacking the success of Wi-Fi and attributing it to 5G. So far, 5G has not been successful and arguably not widely adopted. This circuitous approach is unacceptable.

Classifying Wi-Fi under the title 5G is the first step, and in some parts of the mobile industry, the second step is to replace Wi-Fi (802.11) with unlicensed true 5G technology so that convergence can occur. Be wary of the word convergence, which usually means that Wi-Fi can only be replaced by a technology owned and operated by a large operator.

The current Wi-Fi market includes indoor, high-density, and enterprise, which are the main targets of future 5G services. By incorporating Wi-Fi into 5G, it will become an established fact that 5G is trying to establish a market.

How will the future develop? Will all wireless standards run under the 5G network standard? The answer is obviously no.