Wi-Fi 6 Goes Mainstream

Since the first Wi-Fi 6 devices hit the market in 2018, the buzz around the latest generation of Wi-Fi has only grown. With Wi-Fi an integral part of our everyday life in the office and at home, CommScope is addressing the shift to higher-performance requirements with real products and deployments through the RUCKUS portfolio of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ access points (APs).

What’s the big deal about Wi-Fi 6?

It’s hard to remember when fast, ubiquitous Wi-Fi was anything other than mission-critical for enterprises. The newest Wi-Fi Alliance standard, Wi-Fi 6 (802.ax), delivers the key capabilities businesses need to support today’s exploding connectivity requirements, including:

• Faster performance, with speeds up to four times faster than Wi-Fi 5 / 802.11ac and support for more devices (learn about 1024-QAM, OFDMA).
• Improved battery life for connected devices (learn about Target Wake Time).
• Enhanced security with support for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA3, the latest generation of Wi-Fi security (learn about WPA3).

With these capabilities, Wi-Fi 6 brings better performance to crowded environments with hundreds or even thousands of simultaneous devices and users.

CLICK TO TWEET:  CommScope’s Dennis Huang explains how the company is addressing the shift to higher-performance requirements with real products and deployments through the RUCKUS portfolio of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 access points.

What else to consider?

When evaluating Wi-Fi 6-certified AP systems on the market, there are a few additional things you should expect.

• Better economics through convergence: Enterprises are launching a wide range of new IoT related applications: digital classrooms, building energy monitoring, connected entry, and staff safety systems, to name a few. Too often though, the technology required to support these applications creates multiple, siloed, redundant overlay networks for different IoT standards and devices. Look for APs that drive down IoT complexity and costs with native support for technologies like Bluetooth^® Low Energy, LoRaWAN, and Zigbee. Enterprises can connect diverse IoT applications alongside high-performance Wi-Fi, all with a single, converged network.
• Improved network capacity: With the majority of enterprise workers connecting exclusively via Wi-Fi, network capacity is reemerging as an IT department’s number one concern. Vendors that differentiate themselves with hardware, software or both offer the best chance at solving the capacity problem. Wi-Fi performance is highly correlated to radio optimization algorithms, radio antenna design, and RF/device management techniques. Vendors that can support large venues are most equipped to offer the superior performance workers will need now and into the future.
• Versatility: In many Wi-Fi solutions, the management choices you make—on-premises controllers vs. cloud vs. controller-less—dictate the APs you can use. Look for enterprise Wi-Fi systems that allow purchased gear to migrate between on-premises to cloud management as network requirements change. Not all vendors support this requirement.
• Smarter networking: Artificial intelligence is a game-changer for many industries and Wi-Fi is the same. Choose a solution that is adaptive, self-healing, and self-forming. 

APs in Action

APs should be designed to support a wide range of customers and use cases such as:

• Multi-Dwelling Units (MDUs): Residents of housing complexes, luxury apartment and condominium communities expect high-performance connectivity, but the Wi-Fi gear purchased individually by tenants make this impossible. Building owners are deploying centrally managed Wi-Fi solutions to solve in-building Wi-Fi performance challenges, while generating additional income.
• Large Venues: As sporting and events resume their entertainment calendar, indoor and outdoor venue operators are using Wi-Fi 6 technology to bring fast, reliable connectivity to ultra-dense client environments. At Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP), for example, thousands of concertgoers can live-stream performances from their favorite artists via RUCKUS R750 APs. At Providence Park, the Portland Timbers are using RUCKUS Wi-Fi 6 APs to create immersive, interactive fan experiences.
• Primary schools: With eLearning, online testing, Chromebooks, even virtual reality, K-12 schools are going all-in on digital classrooms. Districts like Millard Public Schools and Huntington ISD are turning to RUCKUS APs to support huge increases in connected devices and streaming video with reliable, always-on Wi-Fi.
• Student Housing: On college and university campuses, access to fast, reliable Wi-Fi is now a basic student expectation—whether in the lecture hall, residence hall or quad. Institutions like Dongguk Gyeongju University in South Korea are using RUCKUS Wi-Fi 6 APs to deliver video-centric remote learning to thousands of students across multiple campuses.

CommScope Leads the Way

Find Out More about Wi-Fi 6

Ready to start your journey to high-performance Wi-Fi?

• Get all the details about what Wi-Fi 6 can mean for your organization at our Wi-Fi 6 information hub.
• Watch this short video to learn about the RUCKUS access point edge.
• Get the inside story on why it’s so hard to deliver great Wi-Fi.
• Find the right RUCKUS AP for your use case with our AP Lookup Guide infographic and in-depth product guide.