Wi-Fi Alliance Announces WiFi 6e with 6GHz Support

The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the Wi-Fi 6e Wi-Fi standard as an extension of the current Wi-Fi 6 specification. With 6e, support for connections at 6GHz becomes possible, where the regular 6 specification has to make do with only 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

On its website, the Wi-Fi Alliance explains the new specification. The intention is that the designation WiFi 6e is used for devices that can also make connections at 6GHz. Some devices that support Wi-Fi 6 already can, but not all devices. With WiFi 6e certification, it should become clearer which devices have support for this, once connections on 6GHz become possible.

With the release of Wi-Fi 6e, the Wi-Fi Alliance is anticipating the provision of 6GHz connections, which are expected to become possible in the future if governments release this part of the spectrum. Expanding the WiFi spectrum to 6GHz ensures that extra capacity is released, and WiFi connections are less likely to get in each other’s way, by choosing between 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz.

The Wi-Fi Alliance started certifying Wi-Fi 6 devices last year. The technology was previously called 802.11ax, but the Wi-Fi Alliance has renamed its wireless protocols, with Wi-Fi 6 referring to the sixth generation. The first manufacturers of 802.11ax routers claim a total maximum theoretical bandwidth of 11Gbit/s, but in practice this will be much lower.