The next-generation of Wi-Fi technology — the biggest upgrade in 20 years — is set to be available for home use soon as the US Court of Appeals has backed an earlier decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to open up 1,200MHz of spectrum in the 6GHz band for unlicensed use.

Wi-Fi 6 is the next generation of Wi-Fi that comes with additional technologies to improve and speed up internet connections. With the growing demand to connect more devices to the network, Wi-Fi 6E will enable enterprises and service providers to support new and emerging applications and keep each connected device performing at an optimum level.

Wi-Fi 6E routers will work at 2.4GHz and 5GHz plus the new 6GHz band. "That has enough room for up to seven maximum capacity Wi-Fi streams to broadcast in the same area at once without interfering with each other or using any existing spectrum," reports The Verge.

WifiForward, an industry group representing companies like Amazon, Google, Comcast, and Arris, hailed the court's decision on Tuesday, saying that the FCC's decision was smart, well-researched, unanimous and bipartisan. "We look forward to consumers getting faster, lower latency Wi-Fi operations in the band, which will include Wi-Fi 6E and eventually next-generation Wi-Fi 7."

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Introduced by The Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi 6E is the upcoming standard for an extension of Wi-Fi 6 (also known as 802.11ax), enabling the operation of features in the unlicensed 6 GHz band, in addition to the currently supported 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. "The court decision removes the regulatory uncertainty surrounding use of the 6 GHz band, allowing Wi-Fi Alliance and our members to expedite delivery of urgently needed Wi-Fi 6E broadband connectivity solutions," The Wi-Fi Alliance said in a statement.

Wi-Fi 6E routers will work at 2.4GHz and 5GHz plus the new 6GHz band. Unsplash

Major telecom player AT&T had argued against the FCC's plan on new Wi-Fi, saying the commission failed to identify and address possible interference with "tens of thousands of microwave links critical to maintaining network infrastructure".

With an additional 1200 MHz of spectrum available for use in the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi applications, Wi-Fi 6E devices will operate in 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels. "This broader spectrum simplifies network design and delivers ultimate Wi-Fi performance with higher throughput and wider channels, while eliminating the need to support legacy devices, resulting in less network congestion," according to Juniper networks.

Making use of this extended spectrum capacity in 6 GHz brings the promising outlook of continued innovation across Wi-Fi user experience and connected devices. With the growing demand to connect more devices to the network, Wi-Fi 6E will enable enterprises and service providers to support new and emerging applications and keep each connected device performing at an optimum level. The added 1200 MHz in the 6 GHz band will enable enterprises to deliver faster, more reliable enterprise Wi-Fi networks. (IANS/SP)

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