As our digital lives become increasingly interconnected, the demand for faster and more reliable network connections continues to grow. Today, organizations are adopting digital transformation and utilizes new technologies such as cloud computing, automation, AI, Machine Learning, big data, analytics, Hybrid Work culture & collaborative tools. All these applications are majorly accessed from Mobile devices like Laptops and Smart Phones which gets connected to the wireless network. So, Wireless has become the primary means of connectivity for many of the organizations. If we talk about Wi-Fi Generations, Wi-Fi technology has evolved significantly over the years, and with the introduction of new Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), we are entering a new era of wireless communication. 

Wireless Access Points also requires backhaul connectivity via UTP Cable to Network Switch for Data and Power. To be able to take the advantage of latest Wi-Fi 6 technology and speed it offers, the Network Switch infrastructure should also support similar wire speed performance without creating any bottlenecks at Switch levels. This is where Multi-Gigabit Ethernet comes into play. Wi-Fi 6 and multi-gigabit networking are two technologies driving this new era of high-speed, high bandwidth applications, promising to transform how we connect and interact with the digital world.

Let us look into the capabilities of latest and upcoming wireless standards, their features & benefits, and role of Multi-Gigabit in shaping the future of networking.

Latest Wireless Standards - Wi-Fi 6 & 6E 

Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, is the latest generation of wireless technology. Wi-Fi 6 is not just one more standard with simple improvement in the speed. It is a significant upgrade with a whole new technology compared to previous standards. Wi-Fi 6 offers advanced features such as OFDMA, TWT, BSS Colouring, 1024-QAM and MU-MIMO to increase throughput, improve performance, optimize spectral efficiency, and reduce power consumption. Wi-Fi 6 upgrades both 2.4GHz & 5GHz bands which is one of the reasons why It is considered to be a significant upgrade.

Wi-Fi 6E is the extension of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) which supports 6 GHz frequency band in addition to 2.4GHz & 5GHz. This will provide 1200 MHz additional spectrum which will help to achieve improved wireless speeds, support for more devices, low latency and less congestions due to increased number of overlapping channels

What Next in Wi-Fi Technology?

Wi-Fi 7 also known as IEEE 802.11be, is the upcoming wireless standard which is built on 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6 & 6E) to provide improved performance on 2.4GHz, 5GHz & 6 GHz frequency bands. Wi-Fi 7 is believed to provide a theoretical throughput of 46Gbps. The advanced key features of Wi-Fi 7 are 320 MHz wider channel on 6GHz, 16 Spatial Streams , 4K QAM, Multiple Resource Units (RU), Multi-Link Operation (MLO) which will help to deliver higher data throughput, improved deterministic latency, improved efficiency in highly dense environment & increases reliability. The Final Standard Ratification is expected by end of 2024.

As Wi-Fi 6E & Wi-Fi 7 uses additional 6GHz frequency band which is still not delicensed in India, the current permitted standard in India is Wi-Fi 6.

Multi-Gigabit Network

Wireless Access Point also requires wired backhaul connectivity to Network Switch via UTP cable for Power & Data Transfer. To utilize the advantage of latest Wi-Fi 6 technology and throughput it supports, the Network Switch and cabling infrastructure should also support similar wire speed performance without creating any bottlenecks at Switch or cabling levels. But most structured cabling infrastructure in use around the world today are built on Category 5e / Category 6 which are originally designed to support upto 1 Gbps speed up to 100m. The Switches & Access Points can be upgraded quickly while Rip & Replacing of older Category 5e & 6 cable to Category 6A cabling is difficult.

To address this limitation & challenge IEEE came out with new standard IEEE 802.3bz Multi-Gigabit which supports 2.5Gbps & 5Gbps speed on existing category 5e & 6 cabling. This will help to protect the existing investment and extends the life of existing cabling infrastructure while it still allows to utilize the improved throughput. Although there are many applications which will get benefit from Multi-gigabit, it the wireless which is getting maximum benefit considering the latest Wi-Fi 6 standards & the wireless throughput it supports ranging from 1.8Gbps to 9.6Gbps

Wi-Fi 6 and Multi-gigabit networking are not just buzzwords. They represent the next leap forward in organizations network. Together, they address the challenges of an increasingly connected world, where more devices, more data, and faster speeds are needed to keep the network running smoothly. Be it a home network or managing a large campus infrastructure, upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 and multi-gigabit is an investment in the future of connectivity.

At D-Link, we offer DMS Series high performance Multi-Gigabit Switches in 8 Ports and 24 Ports configuration to meet the growing Wired and Wireless performance requirements of organizations. In addition to Multi-Gigabit Switches, D-Link also offers Wi-Fi 6 based Access Points with 2.5GbE Multi-Gigabit Uplink Port to Switch for wire speed connectivity. D-Link can offer End to End multi-gigabit ethernet based Networking solutions for both wired & wireless networks for its customers along with Core Fiber Aggregation Switches, complete structured cabling solution (Copper and Fiber Optic) & Network Enclosures for ensuring a fast, reliable, and efficient network that meets the demands of an increasingly connected world.