What is Wi-Fi 6E?
What is Wi-Fi 6E?
Introduced by Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi 6E is the upcoming standard for an extension of Wi-Fi 6 (also known as 802.11ax), enabling the operation of features in the unlicensed 6 GHz band, in addition to the currently supported 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
With an additional 1200 MHz of spectrum available for use in the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi applications, Wi-Fi 6E devices will operate in 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels. This broader spectrum simplifies network design and delivers ultimate Wi-Fi performance with higher throughput and wider channels, while eliminating the need to support legacy devices, resulting in less network congestion.
Making use of this extended spectrum capacity in 6 GHz brings the promising outlook of continued innovation across Wi-Fi user experience and connected devices. The Wi-Fi 6E standard further improves the 802.11ax network user experience with faster and more reliable Wi-Fi networks that are designed for soaring device densities and high-bandwidth applications such as video streaming, videoconferencing, and voice calls.
Improving User Experience with Wi-Fi 6E
With the growing demand to connect more devices to the network, Wi-Fi 6E will enable enterprises and service providers to support new and emerging applications and keep each connected device performing at an optimum level.
The introduction of Wi-Fi 6E addresses Wi-Fi spectrum shortage issues by providing additional and contiguous channel bandwidth, supporting an ever-growing number of devices at unprecedented speeds. The added 1200 MHz in the 6 GHz band will enable enterprises to deliver faster, more reliable enterprise Wi-Fi networks. These networks will be highly scalable and resilient, with simplified architectures, improving their ability to support more users at multigigabit speeds—even in very congested environments with many mobile and IoT devices.
Wi-Fi 6E further increases the network capacity and efficiency for demanding and mission-critical applications that require higher throughput, such as enterprise video streaming and video conference. The initial generation of Wi-Fi 6E chipsets is now available for vendors to start the development of both access points and mobile devices. Wi-Fi 6E products will be available in the next two years. As client devices (which often lag chipset development) become more widely available, organizations whose requirements go beyond the reach of 802.11ax are likely to initiate migration projects.
How Does Wi-Fi 6E Work?
Wi-Fi 6E provides all the features and capabilities of 802.11ax, but it does so by operating in the 6 GHz band. 802.11ax goes beyond boosting network speed and combines innovative technologies to improve overall network performance when connecting a large number of devices running high-bandwidth, low-latency applications.
Wi-Fi 6E networks will provide increased capacity by operating on the 6 GHz band with 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels, while leveraging these existing 802.11ax features:
- 8x8 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO, OFDMA, and BSS Color to provide up to four times more capacity to handle more devices.
- Target wake time (TWT) to improve network efficiency and device battery life, including that of IoT devices.
- 1024 quadrature amplitude modulation mode (1024-QAM) to increase throughput for emerging, bandwidth-intensive uses by transmitting more data in the same amount of spectrum.
Realizing the Benefits of Multigigabit Ethernet
Juniper is committed to delivering innovative and high-performance products that will allow enterprises and service providers to realize the full potential of Wi-Fi 6E innovations.
With the support of an additional 1.2 GHz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band, Wi-Fi 6E will drive up the access point uplink requirements and require multigigabit Ethernet (802.3bz) connectivity to the access layer switching infrastructure.
Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches, a family of high-performance access switches that support 802.3bz (multigigabit Ethernet), can address these soaring bandwidth needs. To help enterprises deliver great end-to-end user and IoT experiences, these switches also work with the complementary Mist Wired Assurance service, which uses AI and data science for actionable insights and self-driving network capabilities.
As enterprise companies prepare to roll out Wi-Fi 6 access points today or plan future upgrades to Wi-Fi 6E for their access switching, they should make sure that their solution has the capability to support 802.3bz connections at 2.5GBASE-T or 5GBASE-T speeds.
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Wi-Fi 6E FAQs
Is it worth upgrading to Wi-Fi 6E?
As 6 GHz clients hit the market, high-density environments will benefit significantly from upgrading to a Wi-Fi 6E network. Combining the available spectrum of Wi-Fi 6E, the enhanced features of 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), and Juniper’s AI solutions to automate and optimize your network will increase your network performance and user experience.
What is driving the need for Wi-Fi 6E?
The growing demand to connect more devices to the network increases network traffic. Additional devices require more bandwidth, and organizations everywhere want faster speeds to support business applications. With device proliferation on a global scale, the need for additional available spectrum becomes critical.
How does Wi-Fi 6E help reduce network congestion?
To alleviate congestion on the current frequencies, indoor low-powered devices are now able to operate on the 6 GHz band (Wi-Fi 6E). Wi-Fi 6E promises enterprises more capacity and increased channel width with up to an additional 1200 MHz to maximize user and IT experiences on the network. Currently, there is 80 MHz of available spectrum in 2.4 GHz, and 500 MHz in 5 GHz.
How will Wi-Fi 6E impact the Wi-Fi user experience and connected device performance?
By leveraging wider channels and the increased spectrum, Wi-Fi 6E can support more simultaneous users connecting to the network at high speeds with lower latency.
How are Wi-Fi 6E networks able to provide increased capacity?
Wi-Fi 6E networks will provide increased capacity by operating on the 6 GHz band with 59 additional 20 MHz channels, 29 additional 40 MHz channels, 14 additional 80 MHz channels, and 7 additional 160 MHz channels, while using the following 802.11ax features:8x8 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO, OFDMA, and BSS Color to provide up to four times more capacity to handle more devices
- 8x8 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO, OFDMA, and BSS Color to provide up to four times more capacity to handle more devices
- Target wake time (TWT) to improve network efficiency and device battery life, including for IoT devices
- 1024 quadrature amplitude modulation (1024-QAM) mode to increase throughput for emerging, bandwidth-intensive uses by transmitting more data in the same amount of spectrum
What is the difference between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E?
If you are looking to further boost performance by taking advantage of the recently approved 6 GHz spectrum and channels by a growing number of global government bodies, learn more about Wi-Fi 6E here, which builds on the features and technologies of Wi-Fi 6 while adding a 6 GHz radio.
What Wi-Fi 6E technology, solutions, and products does Juniper offer?
Juniper’s focus is on optimizing network operator and user experiences through AI for Wi-Fi 6E, automating and boosting performance with two new Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz) access points (APs). The Juniper AP45 Access Point Series and AP34 bring the performance and patented technology to 6 GHz for enterprises that need increased channel widths and capacity. Juniper’s AI solutions for Wi-Fi 6E help support improved operator and user experiences with secure client-to-cloud automation, insights, and AI-driven actions.
