The Wi-Fi Alliance is introducing a new Wi-Fi 6E standard, which designates devices as cable of using the 6Ghz band as well as features of the similarly named Wi-Fi 6 standard (namely higher performance and lower latency). Existing 2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz channels are becoming saturated with the rapid increase in connected devices, so any additional space on the spectrum is to be welcomed. This will add up to 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels.
Broadcom have already announced SoC (system on chip) support for the new 6E standard, so expect new routers to support this new faster standard in the near future (likely by the end of the year).
It's likely that this new spectrum will allow the bandwidth for 4K streaming to multiple clients with ease. The chart below (taken from a Broadcom presentation) shows performance from expected throughput, range and latency of the existing wifi bands. You'll notice that throughput increases dramatically, latency is greatly improved... however there is a range penalty over existing 5Ghz technology. Expect to see more mesh networking products at this higher frequency. Even a standard size house may require 2 or 3 mesh router nodes to maximise performance at 6Ghz.
Source: Broadcom
The full press release is available on the Wi-Fi Alliance website:
Broadcom have already announced SoC (system on chip) support for the new 6E standard, so expect new routers to support this new faster standard in the near future (likely by the end of the year).
It's likely that this new spectrum will allow the bandwidth for 4K streaming to multiple clients with ease. The chart below (taken from a Broadcom presentation) shows performance from expected throughput, range and latency of the existing wifi bands. You'll notice that throughput increases dramatically, latency is greatly improved... however there is a range penalty over existing 5Ghz technology. Expect to see more mesh networking products at this higher frequency. Even a standard size house may require 2 or 3 mesh router nodes to maximise performance at 6Ghz.
Source: Broadcom
The full press release is available on the Wi-Fi Alliance website:
