Wi-Fi 6 and 5G technologies have been talked about for a long time, but it seems that very soon they will become available to millions of users. Let’s try to figure out what the advantage of new technologies is, and why they can be considered a full-fledged step into the wireless era.
The fifth generation of wireless networks (5G) is a new technology designed to increase the speed and capacity of a mobile Internet connection.
High-speed and ubiquitous Internet without wires, which will become a reality thanks to these technologies, will allow you to watch high-quality videos even on the street, exchange data, synchronize the work of many devices, use augmented reality technologies to the fullest, implement smart home systems at least in every apartment and much more.
We’ve rounded up five key facts about 5G and Wi-Fi 6 — how they work and how they’ll work:
5G and Wi-Fi 6 belong to the same technological generation and will coexist in the future, complementing and reinforcing each other. Together, they will give us faster data transfer rates in general: switching from mobile internet to home can be completely seamless.
Next-generation networks cover the main needs of most users – this is support for new applications that transmit and receive a lot of data, and increase network bandwidth without loss of response time, as well as the ability to connect dozens of devices to a single access point. With the further development of the availability of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 networks, comfortable viewing of 4k and 8k videos from a mobile or tablet will be available everywhere.
High-speed networks are important for businesses: both technologies promise much better performance for remote workers and officeless businesses. High-quality video communication, instant synchronization on many devices, and much more will become widely available.
Local area networks, Wi-Fi 6 is well suited for use in internal corporate networks due to its higher speed, low latency when transferring a large amount of data from one device to another, and a high number of devices that can be connected to one access point.
Combined with the reasonable cost of deployment, maintenance, and scaling, it will be an ideal system for indoor wireless connectivity. The technology is especially in demand in places where access points will have to simultaneously serve a large number of users: in stadiums, concert halls, lecture halls and conference centers.
There are many cases when it is irrational, expensive or difficult to create fixed points with Wi-Fi access, for example, in public transport, on a remote street or outside the city. In these cases, 5G technology, which is designed to organize outdoor networks, will be indispensable. In everyday life, you can be left without Wi-Fi even a hundred meters from your home or office – so both types of networks will complement each other.
Wi-Fi 6 and 5G are truly universal. They are relevant for critical IoT devices used in industrial automation, healthcare, energy, mechanical engineering and many other areas where instant exchange of large amounts of data is required. And they will also help make the “smart home” truly smart, allow unmanned vehicles to better navigate the road.
It is already clear that all industries will benefit from improved mobile communications. Hospitality, retail and educational institutions will have a great tool to communicate and interact with customers and students on a whole new level. Production workers are a flexible automation tool. The use of augmented and virtual reality technologies on smartphones can finally move away from single prototypes and become widespread and useful.
Since mid-2019, in selected cities in the US, Japan and some European countries, operators have already begun offering and promoting 5G connectivity. In the next couple of years, 5G service will spread to many major cities around the world.
Today we remember with irony Dial-up modems (the technology of connecting to the Internet through telephone line wires), they have long ceased to count traffic, and 100 megabit fiber has become the standard for home Internet in all major cities. We perceive technological evolution as the norm, but it seems that in the case of Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, we are in for a real breakthrough: a gigabit of data that is transferred to the device “over the air” per second, without any wires – you must agree, it sounds impressive.
In Russia, the gradual introduction of 5G is already beginning. At the moment, they are testing on small fragments of experimental networks. There are plans to install about 50,000 5G base stations in 27 regions of Russia. By 2024, it is planned to fully cover the network of 10 million-plus cities.
Five years is a short time. Anyone who develops applications and programs, plans to develop a business in the IT field, modernize production or open a hotel or an online store should take a close look at both technologies right now. They will quickly become the standard and ordinary users will not understand if you do not use them.