Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 6, or IEEE 802.11ax, is an IEEE standard from the Wi-Fi Alliance, for wireless networks (WLANs). It operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, with an extended version, Wi-Fi 6E, that adds the 6 GHz band. It is an upgrade from Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), with improvements for better performance in crowded places. Wi-Fi 6 covers frequencies in license-exempt bands between 1 and 7.125 GHz, including the commonly used 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, as well as the broader 6 GHz band.
| Generation | IEEE standard |
Adopted | Maximum link rate (Mbit/s) |
Radio frequency (GHz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi 8 | 802.11bn | 2028 | 100,000 | 2.4, 5, 6, mmWave |
| Wi-Fi 7 | 802.11be | 2024 | 1376–46,120 | 2.4, 5, 6 |
| Wi-Fi 6E | 802.11ax | 2020 | 574–9608 | 6 |
| Wi-Fi 6 | 2019 | 2.4, 5 | ||
| Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ac | 2014 | 433–6933 | 5 |
| Wi-Fi 4 | 802.11n | 2008 | 72–600 | 2.4, 5 |
| (Wi-Fi 3)* | 802.11g | 2003 | 6–54 | 2.4 |
| (Wi-Fi 2)* | 802.11a | 1999 | 5 | |
| (Wi-Fi 1)* | 802.11b | 1999 | 1–11 | 2.4 |
| (Wi-Fi 0)* | 802.11 | 1997 | 1–2 | 2.4 |
| *Wi‑Fi 0, 1, 2, and 3 are named by retroactive inference. They do not exist in the official nomenclature. | ||||
This standard aims to boost data speed (throughput-per-area) in crowded places like offices and malls. Though the nominal data rate is only 37% better than 802.11ac, the total network speed increases by 300%, making it more efficient and reducing latency by 75%. The quadrupling of overall throughput is made possible by a higher spectral efficiency.
802.11ax Wi-Fi has a main feature called OFDMA, similar to how cell technology works with Wi-Fi. This brings better spectrum use, improved power control to avoid interference, and enhancements like 1024‑QAM, MIMO and MU-MIMO for faster speeds. There are also reliability improvements in power usage and security protocols like Target Wake Time and WPA3.
The 802.11ax standard was approved on September 1, 2020, with Draft 8 getting 95% approval. Subsequently, on February 1, 2021, the standard received official endorsement from the IEEE Standards Board.