Fast internet speed has become an obsession in the world today. In the last few days, Australia announced that it had reached a new high on internet speeds. The 44.2Tbps is the highest ever recorded. In our homes, using slow internet is one of the reasons of stress and dissatisfaction. This should not be the case when we have the new Wi-Fi standards, Wi-Fi 6.
Super-fast Internet is always in demand throughout the world. In our homes, people are getting more Wi-Fi enabled devices, movie streaming sites have grown leaps and bounds and so many people have gone into high-definition online gaming.
The new generation Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6) will ensure that the online activities are given a Wi-Fi speed boost. The challenge is that many of the devices available in our homes today cannot enjoy the benefits of the new Wi-Fi because they are not compatible.
What is Wi-Fi 6?
Also known as 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6 is the new Wi-Fi standard that was approved in 2019. The new standard does the basic objective of connecting you to the internet but gives Wi-Fi speeds of up to 12Gbps. This means that you can stream or play your game without any lags at all.
The Wi-Fi 6 routers can connect devices to all the previous standards. This means that even though your devices that are not Wi-Fi 6 enabled, you can still enjoy the performance of previous standards.
The table below explains all the approved Wireless standards.
Table 1: Wi-Fi standards. Source: www.technologyreviewer.com
| Wi-Fi standard | Year approved | Frequency | Maximum data rate |
| 802.11ax (W-Fi 6) | 2019 | 2.4GHz & 5GHz | 10-12Gbps |
| 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) | 2014 | 2.4GHz & 5GHz | 1.3Gbps |
| 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) | 2009 | 2.4GHz and 5GHz | 600Mbps |
| 802.11g | 2003 | 2.4GHz | 54Mbps |
| 802.11b | 1999 | 2.4GHz | 11Mbps |
| 802.11a | 1999 | 5GHz | 54Mbps |
| 802.11 | 1997 | Now defunct |
The good thing about the speeds that are supported by Wi-Fi 6 is that they can be shared among several devices. This should come as an exciting piece of news to many since an average American household has at least 9 Wi-Fi devices today. This helps to have a fast connection for all your devices at home.
How can you get Wi-Fi 6?
To get Wi-Fi 6, you have to get some new devices. This means you have to upgrade your hardware to Wi-Fi 6. These internet-enabled devices will enable you to achieve the performance associated with Wi-Fi 6. The older devices were Wi-Fi 5 enabled since it was the best performing Wi-Fi standard up to 2019.
The new devices include laptops, computers, tablets, mobile phones among other devices. Also you have to get games consoles and streaming devices that are Wi-Fi 6 compatible.
Of note is that you have to get a Wi-Fi 6 router. Buying all the Wi-Fi 6 enabled devices without getting a Wi-Fi 6 router will not give you any benefit. In the market today, there are a number of good routers that are Wi-Fi 6 enabled. Some Netgear routers, Asus routers, TP-Link routers, and Linksys routers are Wi-Fi 6 enabled. Wi-Fi 6 routers improve the internet speeds, increase efficiency, and boost data transfer rates as compared to the previous generation routers.
Benefits of Wi-Fi 6
- Lower latency: With Wi-Fi 6, there is reduced latency when you are sending your data. This improves load times and avoids disconnects especially when gaming or streaming. The latency is reduced by the Wi-Fi 6’s advanced technologies. Technologies like OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) helps to fasten the process of packing data into signals.
- Speed: As explained above, Wi-Fi 6 revolutionizes the internet speeds that are offered by our routers. The new generation Wi-Fi gives you almost 10 times the top speed of the previous best generation. These speeds are supported by more advanced technologies like MU-MIMO (multi-User, Multiple-input, and Multiple-output) to ensure all your devices enjoy fast internet.
- Better connection for more devices: Because of the increase in the number of devices requiring internet in our houses, there is a need to get a Wi-Fi that can support them. Due to lower latency and increased speeds, the technology can support many devices with high-speed internet.
- Less battery use for your devices: Using Wi-Fi 6 ensures to get less usage of the batteries in your smartphones, tablets, and laptops. There is a lot of charge that is used to send packets of information over the internet, the faster this happens, the lower the battery use.
- Improved security of your connections: Wi-Fi 6 comes with a new advanced security protocol for router connections, WPA3. The new protocol makes it hard for hackers to crack your login details by constantly guessing them. The new protocol is a must for a Wi-Fi 6 device to be certified by the Wi-Fi alliance unlike in previous devices.
There are other benefits of getting Wi-Fi 6 but the five are the most prominent. It is clear that using Wi-Fi 6 comes with so many benefits that will help to make lives better.
Conclusion
You should note that devices that support Wi-Fi 6 are few since they started trickling out in 2019. These devices come at a premium. As we are progressing, more and more devices are being produced that will benefit from Wi-Fi 6 performances.
For our homes, we may not require Wi-Fi 6 speeds as yet. This is because most American homes do not subscribe to an internet plan that requires Wi-Fi 6. You can explore the different routers here to determine which router will give you the service you deserve in your home.
However, if you are investing in a router with the future in mind, kindly buy a Wi-Fi 6 router. It will give you a performance befitting now while also being sure of achieving the futuristic connection performances later.
