WIFI6, this is the hottest topic at present. We will talk about the development of Wi-Fi and the technical features of WIFI6.
The birth of the Wi-Fi technology is the first to remove the constraints of wired network wiring. The early Wi-Fi technology is mainly applied to IoT devices such as the wireless cash register (PoS). The main application scenario is in department stores and supermarkets to solve the problem that the cables of POS and retail tools do not need to be re-routed each time the shop layout changes.
In 1999, the IEEE 802.11b standard was launched, with the bandwidth reaching 10Mbits/s and working on the 2.4 GHz frequency band. At that time, the network standard was 10Mbits/s., which made wireless connections more and more obvious. The cost of terminals decreased rapidly. Enterprises and consumers began to realize the potential of Wi-Fi technology. Wireless hotspots also began to appear in coffee shops, airports, and hotels. This is the first phase of enterprise WLAN application. It mainly solves the problem of wireless access. The core value is to move away from the wired network. The device can move freely within a certain range. This is also the most direct value of WLAN. The wireless local area network (WLAN) is an extension of the wired network, however, the network in this phase has no specific requirements for security, capacity, and roaming. The access point (AP) is a single access point, and the single-point network coverage is used. That's what we call fat AP (FAT AP).
Shortly after the 802.11b standard was established, the IEEE working group released a faster 802.11a standard, which is no longer working on the increasingly crowded 2.4 GHz frequency band but running on the 5 GHz frequency band. The supported speed is up to 54Mbits/s. The frequency band of the 802.11a is 5 GHz, which is far away from the crowded 2.4 GHz frequency band. Therefore, the 802.11a has better performance even in noisy environments.
Subsequently, IEEE launched 802.11g in 2003. Although 802.11g uses the same 2.4 GHz frequency band as 802.11b, it can reach up to 54 Mbit/s. Compared with 802.11a, 802.11g's backward compatibility and cheaper hardware devices are a great selling point. Therefore, 802.11g can quickly become a consumer domain and even gradually become a new and faster wireless standard in related business applications
Next, the 802.11n launched by IEEE in 2009 further improved the speed of 802.11g and 802.11a. The 802.11n works in the 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz frequency band (running at different time). The maximum transmission rate is 450 Mbit/s in the 3-space flow, and the maximum transmission rate is 600 Mbit/s in the 4-space flow. The 802.11n standard supports SU-MIMO (single user MIMO).
In 2013, IEEE launched 802.11ac, which uses a wider RF bandwidth (up to 160 MHz), MIMO for a maximum of four users in the downlink, and 256QAM, a high-density symbol modulation technology. IEEE 802.11ac works on 5 GHz. The theoretical speed reaches 6.9Gbps. 802.11ac has two versions, the first batch of 802.11ac products launched in 2013 is called Wave 1, and the new high-bandwidth product launched in 2016 is called Wave 2. Wave 2 has made some important enhancements on the basis of Wave 1. The rate supported by the 5 GHz frequency ranges from 1.3 Gbit/s to 3.47 Gbit/s, and Wi-Fi enters the gigabit era.
In 2019, the IEEE 802.11ax standard was launched. To highlight the importance of 802.11ax, the Wi-Fi Alliance named 802.11ax as WIFI6 (also to increase identification and facilitate communication and promotion, similar to wireless 3G/4G/5G). This is the origin of WIFI6. Compared with the previous-generation Wi-Fi standard, WIFI6 introduces the OFDMA technology and uplink MU-MIMO technology. Compared with 802.11ac, 802.11ax achieves a higher data rate of up to 9.6 Gbit/s. Supports 4K/8K HD video services and VR/AR technologies.
Author: Yang Long
