With the 6 GHz band being allocated for unlicensed use around the world and the acceptance of WiFi 7 standard among manufacturers, the WiFi industry is focusing on educating enterprise users on the benefits of the latest generation of WiFi technology in the coming year.
“It is important that we stabilize the innovation cycle and really focus on the adoption,” Tiago Rodrigues, CEO at Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), told Inside Towers. “I think it’s super important that WiFi 7 is a major success in terms of adoption, because it’s not only a great technology but will also improve the connectivity experience.” As part of its education effort, WBA is engaging companies from retail, hospitality, and manufacturing to learn their WiFi needs and expectations.
Another goal for the WiFi industry is to make WiFi services seamless and interoperable with cellular services, including the convergence and coexistence of multiple wireless technologies.
The WBA is working with the Third Generation Partnership Project to accelerate the adoption of OpenRoaming by private 5G cellular and WiFi. Additionally, WBA is pushing U.S. government agencies to use WiFi for mission critical applications as well as emergency services.
Even with the rise of private 5G, Rodrigues doesn’t believe it will somehow “beat” WiFi and then replace it in enterprise wireless networks. “In some cases, it will make sense to invest in WiFi and in some cases, it will make sense to invest in a private cellular network,” Rodigues said. “But, in my personal opinion, in the majority of the cases it makes sense to invest in both.”
The U.S. was the first country in the world to open up the 6 GHz band to unlicensed use, according to Rodrigues, followed by Canada, South America, Latin American, Japan, Australia, South Korea. These allocations paved the way for WiFi 7, which uses 6 GHz along with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
Rodrigues said the association will continue to promote the allocation of 6 GHz for unlicensed use in more countries in the coming year, plus additional spectrum allocations beyond 6 GHz. “We should not have WiFi as the weak point of a broadband service, so we need more capacity, more spectrum to be used by WiFi. Go to 10 Gig or even 20 Gig so we can have that capacity available,” he said.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
