Part of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™, the Wi-Fi Alliance interoperability certification for Wi-Fi 6E helps ensure users receive a secure, reliable, and interoperable experience with Wi-Fi 6E devices. It is expected that more than 338 million devices will enter the market this year.
Phil Solis, research director at IDC said: “Wi-Fi 6E will see rapid adoption in 2021 with nearly 20% of all Wi-Fi 6 device shipments supporting 6 GHz by 2022.
“This year, we expect to see new Wi-Fi 6E chipsets from several companies, and a variety of new Wi-Fi 6E smartphones, PCs, and laptops in the first quarter of 2021 followed by TVs and VR product announcements midyear," Solis continued.
Wi-Fi Alliance earlier pledged to make certification for Wi-Fi 6E products available in tandem with spectrum availability. Now making good on that pledge, the alliance has reported that multiple product vendors are already announcing Wi-Fi 6E devices which make use of "super-wide 160 MHz channels and uncongested bandwidth in 6 GHz to deliver multigigabit, low latency Wi-Fi".
“Wi-Fi is vital to our customers particularly during this time when so many have transitioned to working, learning, and getting all their entertainment at home. With the new generation of Wi-Fi 6E devices, we are excited about the potential to deliver faster speeds and more capacity to take full advantage of the newly available spectrum," said Matthew Zelesko, CTO at Comcast Cable.
"We applaud the FCC for enabling the additional spectrum and thank Wi-Fi Alliance for the Wi-Fi 6E certification that will help us deliver even better customer experiences.”
Global progress
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the 1200 MHz of 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi use in April, spurring the likes of the UK, Europe, Chile, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates to follow suit.
Other countries including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Jordan are quickly progressing towards opening 6 GHz for unlicensed operation.
“Worldwide interoperability for Wi-Fi 6E devices promotes rapid adoption and innovation in 6 GHz,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance.
“Users will soon experience unprecedented Wi-Fi that significantly improves applications and delivers new use cases that will change their connected experiences," Figueroa added.
