Wi-Fi 6, 5G and CBRS walk into a bar – or which technology will we use in the future?

Wi-Fi connectivity standard is constantly evolving. Even now wealthier customers can own devices with the latest IEEE 802.11ax module built-in, and soon the technology will be available for wider distribution. But that's not all – this year Wi-Fi Alliance changed the official nomenclature, which will facilitate the recognition of subsequent editions of the standard. Now 802.11ax has a new name, Wi-Fi 6, which tells much more to a potential buyer, and 802.11ac is now known as Wi-Fi 5. The same goes for every next generation of wireless networks.

However, “what exactly is hidden behind the numbers themselves?”, you will probably ask. The main goal of the "six" is a much better use of the frequency spectrum available for Wi-Fi, which translates into a more efficient support for more devices within one channel at the same time. 802.11ax is not designed to increase the transmission speed of individual devices, but rather to improve overall network efficiency. The greatest asset of the new standard is therefore higher bandwidth, thanks to which a significant number of devices located within tight space gain very fast access to the network without any major obstacles.

802.11ax offers improvements that significantly boost the efficiency of multi-device communication so that each device achieves the best possible quality of connection. This should particularly drive a dynamic development of the Internet of Things (IoT). The entire connection management infrastructure has been redesigned and is now based on MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology. Devices with Wi-Fi 6 will successfully detect receivers located at the border of the network coverage: the signal will be amplified so that the user using the device will not experience the negative effects of being at the verge of communication.

Wi-Fi is now the basis of work in many offices and manufacturing plants. This technology is also often utilised by schools, hotels, shops and private apartments – not only to connect to the Internet, but also to work with white goods or to operate a smart home. It is also a kind of a permanent, reliable and convenient connection between computers (and other devices with Wi-Fi modules), which allows users to create closed computer networks. In many design or IT studios, Wi-Fi is the basis for communication, granting more efficient cooperation between employees.

Wi-Fi 6 operates a new protocol – Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), which allows the transmitter to communicate simultaneously with multiple clients (transition from the former serial communication to a kind of parallel communication). This is just one of the many improvements that have been introduced in the new standard, but it is probably the most important part of the upgrade. It is worth remembering that each subsequent version of the Wi-Fi standard is backwards compatible, which means that the newest access points will be able to easily cooperate with devices equipped with a Wi-Fi module of any older standard.

The fifth generation of mobile communication technologies will be an equally important protagonist of the upcoming changes. 1G focused on analogue voice calls, 2G enabled digital voice and text transmission, 3G allowed voice, messaging and data transmission, while 4G enabled the transition to IP-based broadband services. The 5G network, which aspires to become a global telecommunications technology, is expected to significantly increase data transmission speed, minimise delays and ensure high energy efficiency by 2020.

However, the most important aspect of the 5G network is highly efficient and reliable communication between multiple points. It can not only create structures such as a smart home (which will also benefit from the emergence of the new standard), but also a smart city, where infrastructure elements communicate with each other, constituting sensors of a powerful "organism" which provides residents with a huge amount of information and facilitates everyday life.

Global communication (apps like Messenger or Skype) will also take on a higher level, and at such a high speed, cloud data will achieve a whole new dimension as well. The outcome? Many industries will grow faster, and introducing the whole idea of the Internet of Things will become much easier. Unfortunately, there are many superstitions and myths circulating around the 5G network, stemming from ignorance or general lack of knowledge of the laws of physics. In spite of everything, soon this technology will become a new, universal standard.

CBRS stands for Citizens Broadband Radio Service. It is a connectivity standard that works "between" Wi-Fi and 5G. CBRS is the perfect solution for those places which experience problems with cellular network coverage. It operates within the 3.5 GHz band (3550 MHz to 3700 MHz, to be precise), has a standard LTE interface, supports voice, text and data communications, and requires a SAS (Spectrum Access System) to avoid interference. Due to its much longer range, it is ideal for applications where Wi-Fi routers prove to be too weak. Its implementation is no more cumbersome than in the case of Wi-Fi networks (you can use devices that support both Wi-Fi and CBRS).

It is a perfect solution, e.g. for the administrator of a large residential building. If the owner wishes to move with the times and provide tenants with the highest standards, but for some reason there are problems with the coverage of the telephone network – he or she can create a private LTE network, which will not only be more reliable in terms of coverage, but will also constitute a more secure, complete whole.

Another advantage is the lack of connections with local telephone network operators, which means that there are no associated costs. It is also worth remembering that many IoT devices will work better when connected to CBRS, instead of Wi-Fi. This applies both to the scale of the building and, for example, to the whole city.

In fact, none of the technologies presented here can fully replace the others. Why? Let's look at the example from the nearest backyard. A scooter, passenger car or a big bus – all these vehicles can carry a passenger, although each of them is better at something than the others and each has features that make it irreplaceable in a specific situation. For a small company, Wi-Fi will be a better, easier and more economical choice than CBRS. The 802.11 standard is also likely to provide a higher level of security than 5G, constituting an independent internal network – protected from external access due to its shorter range. This is why it is so often used in offices and factory automation systems – even as a network which is not connected to the Internet, but only for communication between internal devices.

On the other hand, CBRS technology offers more capabilities and coverage than Wi-Fi, and is not as widely available as 5G (which in many cases means an advantage!). It is also said that because of this easy access, 5G network will be able to completely replace Wi-Fi and CBRS. Is it possible? Currently, there are about 9 billion Wi-Fi enabled devices in the world, and it is estimated that there will be another 3 billion such devices in use every year. The answer is self-evident. The most optimistic expert forecasts for 5G networks indicate that by 2024, the world will have about 1.5 billion devices supporting this technology. There is no need to replace hardware that already works with Wi-Fi or CBRS modules, but it is possible to combine the advantages of available solutions and increase their efficiency.

In the world of technology, a similar situation occurred in the 1990s, when the market was dominated by Ethernet. In the meantime, technologies such as Token Ring, FDDI or ATM have emerged that in many ways were ahead of their predecessor. The latter, however, already had an established position in the market and is still used today. Likewise: Wi-Fi is "today's Ethernet", and with its unique features and huge compatibility, it is simply irreplaceable. Conclusion? 5G, Wi-Fi 6 and CBRS are technologies that work well on their own, but above all they are designed to coexist and complement each other perfectly. Simply put: it’s a perfect trio!