WiFi 6 is making its way among more and more devices. Almost all operators offer routers or repeaters with this network technology, and we also find devices such as computers or mobiles that integrate it as standard. Not only is WiFi 6 becoming popular, but there are also more and more WiFi 6E devices. But is the next standard worth waiting for?
With WiFi 5, wireless connectivity is fast enough already; especially if we use the 5 GHz band , where there are channels with more bandwidth that allow us to enjoy a higher speed. With this standard, speeds of hundreds of Mbps can be reached without problem, as well as having a very low and stable latency if there are not many devices using the connection. And in the case that there are many, we can always opt for a router that has more antennas with several channels.
Between WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 there is no doubt
With WiFi 6 many things have been improved. For starters, it offers lower energy consumption, better performance when there are many connected devices thanks to improvements in MU-MIMO, better compression with OFDMA to transmit more data on the same frequency, more efficient use of the spectrum with 1024QAM modulation , and the possibility of carrying all These improvements to the 2.4 GHz band. With all this, the theoretical maximum speed of WiFi 6 is 9.6 Gbps, compared to 3.5 of WiFi 5. In security we also have improvements thanks to WPA3, with better encryption and protection.
Thus, between choosing a router or repeater with WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 there is no doubt: opt for one with WiFi 6 . The problem is that just a year after the launch of this new standard, WiFi 6E arrived. With it, WiFi 6 is further improved, offering a key improvement: the ability to use 6 GHz frequencies . This frequency supports even more channels up to 160 MHz in size . If we have a device compatible with the standard, it can use the 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz at the same time to reach speeds of several gigabits without problem.
Therefore, if you want to get all the performance out of a 1 or 10 Gbps connection via WiFi, opting for the WiFi 6E and devices compatible with it may be a good option. However, WiFi 6 is the minimum improvement that we should look for when buying a new device, since that is where we will notice the most improvements in terms of speed, coverage and less network saturation.
The WiFi 6E and WiFi 7 are not worth it (so much)
And in case you had more questions, the IEEE is already working on WiFi 7 . The future standard will begin to be shown at conferences such as CES in 2022 next month, but its official launch is not expected until at least spring 2024. The standard, technically named 802.11be, will allow the use of channels up to 320 MHz through Carrier Aggregation, in addition to having up to 16 independent channels . With this, it is expected to be able to reach speeds of up to 30 Gbps , triple that of WiFi 6.
As we can see, it is increasingly difficult to introduce improvements in WiFi standards . Given the current network use of wireless connectivity, with a normal WiFi 6 router we will have more than enough for the next few years, so do not worry if you do not buy something that has WiFi 6E today. For WiFi 7 there are still two and a half years left , and more to see commercial devices that make use of it. Therefore, look at WiFi 6 from now on as the minimum you have to demand from your new devices.
