Wi-Fi Certified 6 Release 2 adds new features for advanced Wi-Fi applications

[TheLostSwede]

With adoption of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 growing steadily, Wi-Fi Alliance is evolving Wi-Fi 6 certification to meet increasing demands from today's Wi-Fi use cases. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 is now available, bringing new features that support increasing device and traffic density to deliver greater performance and power management with Wi-Fi devices and applications. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 adds support for uplink multi-user multiple input, multiple output (multi-user MIMO) to deliver smoother streaming services and video conferencing, faster uploads, and more reliable gaming. Additionally, three power management features improve Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 power efficiency, benefitting enterprise, industrial, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. New features apply across all bands supported by Wi-Fi 6 - 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz - bringing capacity, efficiency, coverage and performance benefits to residential, enterprise, and large public networks. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 delivers the best experience with advanced applications, while providing strong WPA3 security and promoting interoperability between Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices.

"Wi-Fi delivers advanced capabilities that have driven tremendous global innovation, paving the way for massive growth in Wi-Fi applications that users rely on every day," said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 furthers Wi-Fi's evolution to address today's market needs, and supports more high-performance Wi-Fi scenarios with greater capacity, efficiency, and reliability."




Wi-Fi uplink performance
Nearly two billion Wi-Fi 6 devices will enter the market in 20221, and today's Wi-Fi supports increased device density, more bandwidth-hungry applications, and surges in uplink data demand in residential and enterprise environments. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 adds support for uplink multi-user MIMO, enabling devices to upload content concurrently to an access point (AP). Wi-Fi networks are supporting more upstream activity, with users frequently uploading work documents and videos to social media sites, and the trend toward greater uplink data consumption will further increase as more IoT devices send data via Wi-Fi to the cloud.

Uplink multi-user MIMO improves network performance and reduces latency while video conferencing, uploading documents, and any other mission-critical applications that require greater uplink capacity. Wi-Fi 6 deployments are increasing worldwide in large office buildings, public arenas, education campuses, high rise dwellings, and mass transportation hubs, and advanced Wi-Fi 6 capabilities drive innovation in the countless applications that rely on Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 delivers comprehensive multi-user MIMO implementation to deliver strong Wi-Fi performance even in challenging environments with many Wi-Fi devices.

Wi-Fi power management
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 includes new features that bring power management improvements for devices in enterprise and IoT deployments. New low power and sleep mode enhancements - including broadcast target wake time (TWT), extended sleep time, and dynamic multi-user spatial multiplexing power save (SMPS)- enable power optimization of multiple battery powered devices. This trio of features allow multiple devices to receive extended sleep periods, allow for specific "wake up" times for transmitting data, and enable dynamic shut off of redundant receive chains to optimize power consumption in Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 networks. Power management features benefit smart home, smart city, and Industrial IoT (IIoT) environments, and enable Wi-Fi to further its role in delivering IoT applications.

"Wi-Fi 6 adoption has outpaced previous Wi-Fi generations, driven by demand for better Wi-Fi connectivity in phones, tablets, PCs and access points to support high-performance, low latency uses in both residential and enterprise environments. Technological advancements continue to bring speed and efficiency benefits to a wide number of users and use cases, most importantly, in areas with high densities of users or client devices connecting and transferring large amounts of data," said Phil Solis, Research Director at IDC. "Reduction in chipset costs and advancements in Wi-Fi 6 power management will also help shift the IoT space to more broadly adopt Wi-Fi 6 in the coming years."

Industry support for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2
"Today's service providers want Wi-Fi 6 as part of a managed Wi-Fi solution to deliver the best possible connected home experience for consumers. It's clear that the number of connected devices is increasing at an accelerated rate, and trends such as the 'enterprization' of the home, UHD video, telemedicine, and online gaming are all placing more demands on home networks. Wi-Fi 6 can address these demands, and Airties offers an extensive Wi-Fi 6 portfolio, powered by Airties Edge software for Wi-Fi 6 gateways and extenders." - Metin Taskin, CTO, Airties

"Broadcom is pleased to have its Wi-Fi 6E access point and client device reference designs included in the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 test bed. The wide proliferation of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E devices is already creating new experiences for the consumer. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 certification program, which we are happy to be a part of, is designed to carry this momentum forward." - Vijay Nagarajan, Vice President of Marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, Broadcom

"The breadth of new features that Wi-Fi offers consumers requires constant updates and sometimes staged releases to get products to the market. We applaud Wi-Fi Alliance for continuing to drive this phased process and the latest introduction of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2, bringing powerful new features like uplink multi-user MIMO to Wi-Fi 6." - Charles Cheevers, CTO, Home Networks, CommScope

"Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 was a game changer for IoT applications and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 extends these innovations even further. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 enhancements for TWT, uplink multi-user MIMO, and Extended Sleep Time allow for long-life battery-operated devices that also provide the added range for not only whole home coverage but whole property coverage including outdoor cameras, lighting, energy management systems, and sensors. Infineon's AIROC Wi-Fi family of products support Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 features, which coupled with advanced range and robustness improvement capabilities, improved power management, and a comprehensive security framework, delivers cutting edge solutions for IoT applications." - Sivaram Trikutam, Senior Director, IoT Compute and Wireless, Infineon

"We would like to thank Wi-Fi Alliance for enabling the industry to ramp new Wi-Fi technologies through certification programs which help ensure device interoperability, and we are delighted to have the Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 product be part of their latest test bed. New Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 features like uplink MU-MIMO, coupled with new high-speed channels in the 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi 6E, will help networks scale in their ability to deliver faster, more responsive Wi-Fi experiences as the number of devices continues to exponentially grow." - Eric A. McLaughlin, VP of Client Computing Group, and GM of the Wireless Solutions Group, Intel Corporation

"With the demand for greater responsiveness and performance required by new disruptive, untethered real-time immersive experiences, Wi-Fi Alliance certification is crucial to ensure robust interoperability and rapid adoption of Wi-Fi 6 Release 2 devices. We're honored that our WAV600-2 product family was selected as an access point test bed device for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 and that MaxLinear chipsets will empower the next generation of broadband platforms for multi-gigabit video, gaming, and other demanding low-latency services launching this year." - Doron Tal, Vice President, Broadband Access, MaxLinear

"The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 program brings a number of improvements to high density wireless networks. We will see tangible advancements in uplink performance, power and enhanced range, unlocking new applications and use cases for residential, industrial and enterprise users. As part of the test bed of chipsets for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2, MediaTek's Filogic family provides fast, reliable and an always connected solution to help drive the Wi-Fi industry forward as we all rely on connected devices more than ever before." - Alan Hsu, Corporate Vice President & General Manager of MediaTek's Intelligent Connectivity business

"As one of the first companies to be certified for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 and to be included in Wi-Fi Alliance's interoperability test bed, NXP continues to play a leading role in helping Wi-Fi Alliance innovate and drive the adoption of Wi-Fi 6. With Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2, Wi-Fi Alliance is proactively meeting the growing performance demands of advanced IoT applications that require significantly greater capacity and increased power efficiency both today and tomorrow." - Larry Olivas, VP and GM of Wireless Connectivity Solutions, NXP Semiconductors

"There is a fundamental shift in how we work and play, with effective connectivity becoming critical for seamless transitions between our physical and virtual worlds. onsemi congratulates Wi-Fi Alliance's timely introduction of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2. This further helps improve the end user experience via uplink MU-MIMO and power efficiency optimizations, expanding opportunities for smoother and more reliable video, gaming and IoT applications." - Irvind Ghai, vice president of product marketing, Wireless Connectivity and Signal Processing Division, onsemi

"To ensure productive and reliable connectivity while working, playing, and learning remotely, the demand for a better approach to uplink data has never been greater. Uplink MU-MIMO, a key feature of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2, is designed to deliver in every environment. Qualcomm's end-to-end solutions enable customers to deliver networking, IoT and mobile products that meet the moment, while deploying leading technology." - Rahul Patel, SVP & GM, Connectivity & Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc

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[DrCR]

Buyer beware. I tried one of the latest WiFi standards, and the covid vaccine too, and neither helped me feel more positive about my country’s politics. False advertising, 0/10.

Mods, this post is meant for a laugh, obviously, but if it pushes the bounds of tolerance here, please certainly feel free to dele it.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

You know what the WiFi Alliance should standardize? They should make it so WiFi routers can only claim their maximum speed is what can be achieved through a single link, e.g. the maximum transfer speed a SINGLE user can achieve when their computer/device is connected to the router, NOT the combined bandwidth of all possible connections across all possible bands... That would be a help. So there'd be no more "AX6000", "AC5300", etc.

 

[randomUser]

I don't care what they call it on their datasheets and such, but for end-user this should not have more than one number in the naming.

If they make revisions, then they should increase the number. Wifi7, Wifi8

What they're doing now is USB3.0, USB3.1, USB3.2, Gen1, Gen2, 5Gbps, 10Gbps. Like there are so many markings it confused everyone.

You're making stuff for end-users, why not think like end-user?
We will soon see Wifi 6, release 2, revision 15, reload 4, build 125, super speed 10, ultra speed 1.

 

[TheLostSwede]

You know what the WiFi Alliance should standardize? They should make it so WiFi routers can only claim their maximum speed is what can be achieved through a single link, e.g. the maximum transfer speed a SINGLE user can achieve when their computer/device is connected to the router, NOT the combined bandwidth of all possible connections across all possible bands... That would be a help. So there'd be no more "AX6000", "AC5300", etc.

But the single user achievable speed depends on the client device, so that doesn't make sense.
I agree that the marketing names for the various router have gone mad and there are too many tiny differentiators that no sensible consumer will understand.
That said, your suggestion means that all routers would be the same, assuming the client device is the same and they all follow the same subset of 802.11.

I don't care what they call it on their datasheets and such, but for end-user this should not have more than one number in the naming.

If they make revisions, then they should increase the number. Wifi7, Wifi8

What they're doing now is USB3.0, USB3.1, USB3.2, Gen1, Gen2, 5Gbps, 10Gbps. Like there are so many markings it confused everyone.

You're making stuff for end-users, why not think like end-user?
We will soon see Wifi 6, release 2, revision 15, reload 4, build 125, super speed 10, ultra speed 1.

But this only brings one potential useful feature for most consumers, upstreams MU-MIMO, which may or may not make a difference for most people, as it would require the client device to be on 802.11ax release 2 as well, or it simply wouldn't do anything.
As with any technology that is progressing, but retaining backwards compatibility, WiFi suffers a lot from the backwards compatibility when it comes to the advanced features. At the same time, it doesn't help that a lot of features seems to be optional or at least optionally supported by different WiFi chip makers.
WiFi 7 is coming, there was supposed to be a demo by MTK at CES, but it might not happen now due to them possibly not being at the show.
WiFi 7 is from my understanding a much bigger step than this minor revision.
Yes, advancing technology is really frustrating at times, but this is a much lesser change than 802.11ac Wave-2, which really made a difference compared to original 802.11ac release.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Couldnt they just call it like wifi 6.3 or something? Wifi 6 released. Shortly after that it was Wifi 6E, and now it's Wifi 6 release 2? Who the fuck comes up with these names? Not to mention, why couldnt this all be worked into the original Wifi 6 standard? Wifi 6E isnt even on most routers coming out and now we are already past that with release 2?

 

[TheLostSwede]

Couldnt they just call it like wifi 6.3 or something? Wifi 6 released. Shortly after that it was Wifi 6E, and now it's Wifi 6 release 2? Who the fuck comes up with these names? Not to mention, why couldnt this all be worked into the original Wifi 6 standard? Wifi 6E isnt even on most routers coming out and now we are already past that with release 2?

There's also the UNII-4 extension of WiFi 6, that operates in the 5.9 GHz band.
WiFi 6E isn't allowed in most countries as yet.

 

[Tartaros]

You know what the WiFi Alliance should standardize? They should make it so WiFi routers can only claim their maximum speed is what can be achieved through a single link, e.g. the maximum transfer speed a SINGLE user can achieve when their computer/device is connected to the router, NOT the combined bandwidth of all possible connections across all possible bands... That would be a help. So there'd be no more "AX6000", "AC5300", etc.

This. I have been out of the loop of wifi since I got an ac router like 5 or 6 years ago and now I'm looking into it again and is so confusing now with all the options available and makers not making clear what you migh have or not have with a single look.

 

[TheLostSwede]

This. I have been out of the loop of wifi since I got an ac router like 5 or 6 years ago and now I'm looking into it again and is so confusing now with all the options available and makers not making clear what you migh have or not have with a single look.

See my reply above. There are reasons why it wouldn't work to do it that way.
However, there are ways to make it simpler than it is now and it seems like a lot of the router makers are coming up with their own inventions of in-between numbers, just to be slightly faster than the competition, always rounded up of course.

The most important things these days are to look for how many antennas the router has and how many data streams it can push down those antennas.
Ideally, look for 4x4 routers, for both bands, as many are only 2x2 on the 2.4GHz band.
Why? Because a 4x4 MU-MIMO router can handle at least two users simultaneously without either having to wait for the other. Most higher-end WiFi devices today are 2x2, with cheaper devices being 1x1. There are very few 3x3 client devices and I don't think there are any 4x4, unless it's for a mesh network or a range extender.