Wireless
Active mobile devices (smartphones, IoT devices, tablets, etc.) now outnumber the world population. Mobile Web traffic has surpassed that of the PC, in the world’s most developed countries. The BYOD trend has given birth to a mobile-first mentality, forcing companies to adapt technology and services. Also outdoor usage of Wi-Fi is in on the rise.
This new mentality brings with it an even larger need for strong security protocols and mobility management within the enterprise, but also highlights the challenges and opportunities of the wireless LAN. Improvements in radio architecture, design, firmware, antennas and management software will characterize the wireless market in the upcoming years.
802.11ac was introduced to handle the new boom in devices that need to use a wireless network at faster speeds. Nonetheless new standards are already being developed: 802.11ax, aiming for the 10 Gbps throughput mark in the 5 GHz bands and 802.11ay, which will enable 20 Gbps at 60 GHz.
These solutions deliver speed and capacity. The vast majority of Wi-Fi deployments are evolving toward high density scenarios, such as hospitals, schools, hotels, event venues etc. and 802.11ax (colloquially called ‘wifi 6’) is designed for exactly that.
