Optimizing for Wi-Fi 6

Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, is the next-generation standard in Wi-Fi technology. What’s exciting about it is that it expands on 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) and 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) by improving data capacity, the number of connected user devices per node and throughput over the full RF range. Wi-Fi 6 offers theoretical speeds of up to 10 Gb/s. The new standard also implements orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), which runs in full-duplex (up and downstream), multi-user, multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO). It supports twelve streams, allowing each stream to service multiple devices.

Under the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification program, designs can be submitted for certification. This is driving both indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi 6 manufacturers to certify and deploy infrastructure with certified units. These manufacturers, then, need a vendor with both an indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi 6 portfolio covering front-end solutions plus filtering – preferably in the context of a large portfolio that also includes multi-protocol solutions focusing on Wi-Fi/IoT coexistence. To benefit from the improved capabilities, there’s also a need for devices with higher levels of linearity, interference mitigation and lower power consumption – all in a smaller form factor. Wi-Fi 6 manufacturers require the RF front-end devices to achieve these parameters in order to meet certification program demands.