Wi-Fi^® interoperability in 6 GHz promotes worldwide innovation and diverse ecosystem

Austin, Texas – January 7, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance^® certification for Wi-Fi 6E is now available to deliver interoperability for devices operating in the 6 GHz spectrum. Interoperability certification for Wi-Fi 6E – as part of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6^™ – is introduced as global momentum for Wi-Fi^® operation in the 6 GHz band increases daily. Wi-Fi 6E brings the immense benefits of 6 GHz spectrum to consumers, device manufacturers, and service providers as the band is being made available around the world. Wi-Fi Alliance certification helps ensure users receive a secure, reliable, and interoperable experience with Wi-Fi 6E devices.

Following the decision by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to open 1200 MHz of 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi use, the U.K., Europe, Chile, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates have also made the decision to deliver 6 GHz for Wi-Fi. Countries including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Jordan are quickly progressing towards opening 6 GHz for unlicensed operation. Wi-Fi Alliance is delivering on its promise to make certification for Wi-Fi 6E products available as the spectrum becomes available. Multiple product vendors are already announcing Wi-Fi 6E devices that make use of the superwide 160 MHz channels and uncongested bandwidth in 6 GHz to deliver multigigabit, low latency Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED^™ provides a standards-based approach for product vendors to introduce secure and interoperable Wi-Fi 6E products throughout the world, helping to create a diverse device ecosystem.

“Wi-Fi 6E will see rapid adoption in 2021 with more than 338 million devices entering the market, and nearly 20 percent of all Wi-Fi 6 device shipments supporting 6 GHz by 2022,” said Phil Solis, research director at IDC. “This year, we expect to see new Wi-Fi 6E chipsets from several companies, and a variety of new Wi-Fi 6E smartphones, PCs, and laptops in the first quarter of 2021 followed by TVs and VR product announcements midyear.”

Wi-Fi 6E certification utilizes cutting-edge WPA3^™ security that continually evolves to address market needs. WPA3 has recently been updated to support even more robust password generation, mitigate additional attacks, and further protect and maintain privacy on Wi-Fi networks. Wi-Fi 6E extends into the 6 GHz band the capabilities of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6, including orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), target wake time (TWT), and multi-user multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO). These features all benefit from the additional 6 GHz spectrum capacity and the availability of up to seven superwide 160 MHz channels to move more data and deliver high-bandwidth Wi-Fi 6E applications including unified communications, AR/VR, and holographic video. Wi-Fi 6E delivers lower latency to satisfy industrial IoT and enterprise environment requirements. Wi-Fi 6E brings additional capacity, speed, and reduced latency for critical activities such as telecommuting, telepresence, and distance learning.

A new animation highlights the role of Wi-Fi 6E in delivering Wi-Fi innovation.

“Worldwide interoperability for Wi-Fi 6E devices promotes rapid adoption and innovation in 6 GHz,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Users will soon experience unprecedented Wi-Fi that significantly improves applications and delivers new use cases that will change their connected experiences.”

Member companies providing interoperability test bed devices that are among the first Wi-Fi 6E certified products include: Broadcom, Intel, MaxLinear, MediaTek, ON Semiconductor, and Qualcomm.

For more information, please visit: www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-6.