Wi-Fi QoS Management™ brings robust service delivery and high quality Wi-Fi experiences

Austin, Texas – February 23, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management™, a new certification program delivering a standardized approach to traffic prioritization that improves the Wi-Fi® experience with real-time applications. Wi-Fi QoS Management™ builds on widely adopted Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WMM™ to deliver a consistent, end-to-end approach to Quality of Service (QoS) treatment in Wi-Fi networks. The program introduces two new technologies that allow Wi-Fi devices, applications, and network managers to prioritize traffic flows by establishing a standards-based approach to QoS mirroring, and by aligning with IETF recommendations for QoS mapping between Internet Protocol (IP) and IEEE 802.11. Residential, enterprise, and public networks benefit from Wi-Fi QoS Management, particularly when using applications requiring low latency and low jitter, including videoconferencing, interactive gaming, AR/VR, industrial IoT, and healthcare monitoring.

Wi-Fi QoS Management provides standardized mechanisms that allow client applications to request QoS treatment, and for network managers to implement QoS policies. These mechanisms allow user devices and access points to select differentiated prioritization depending on the application. The result is robust service delivery and higher quality Wi-Fi, including better experiences with real-time and immersive applications, and reduced latency and jitter when online gaming or accessing interactive cloud and edge services.

“Today’s Wi-Fi networks carry a demanding amount of real-time data applications that require discerning treatment to deliver high quality experiences,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Alliance is introducing Wi-Fi QoS Management as a new way to manage Wi-Fi traffic and ensure end-user expectations for superior performance continue to be met.”  

Wi-Fi QoS Management features two key technologies:

• Mirrored Stream Classification Service (MSCS): enables a client device to request the access point to apply specific QoS treatment of downlink IP data flows using QoS mirroring 
• Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) mapping: aligns QoS treatment across Wi-Fi and wired networks and also enables network managers to configure specific QoS policies

MSCS – based on the concept of “mirrored” QoS – provides a simple means for applications on user devices to request traffic be assigned the desired priority level. This bidirectional QoS treatment ensures consistent, reduced latency for the device application and delivers positive Wi-Fi experiences even when the Wi-Fi channel is congested. DSCP mapping allows the network manager to map traffic from both access points and client devices to a particular QoS priority across the network. In enterprise networks, a network manager can configure videoconferencing traffic as high priority and configure a mapping table that can be updated to ensure the requirements of mission-critical services are met. 

Member companies providing interoperability test bed devices that are among the first Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management products include Broadcom Inc., Intel, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Industry support for Wi-Fi QoS Management:

“Airties and Wi-Fi Alliance share an ongoing commitment to improve the home Wi-Fi experience. We commend Wi-Fi Alliance’s new efforts in Wi-Fi QoS Management aimed at enhancing the performance of real-time applications. This feature can certainly serve to complement the kind of advanced Smart Wi-Fi software and cloud management solutions provided by Airties to service providers around the globe.” –Metin Taskin, CTO, Airties

"Wi-Fi QoS Management is the first step to transform Wi-Fi connectivity from "best effort" to consistent availability for specific data traffic streams, especially for teleworking and distributed enterprise applications. Wi-Fi QoS Management capability is a key building block for ASSIA products." – Tuncay Cil, Chief Strategy Officer, ASSIA

“Broadcom applauds Wi-Fi Alliance for releasing the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management program, and is honored to be selected as a test bed supplier. Wi-Fi QoS Management provides the tools to empower application developers and vendors of mobile and gaming devices to manage bidirectional traffic flows on home and enterprise Wi-Fi networks to enable the required quality of service for all applications. It also provides essential tools to enable network administrators to manage QoS at a system level. Wi-Fi QoS Management combined with Wi-Fi 6E will enable enterprises, operators, and users to enjoy latency sensitive applications such as live video streaming, gaming, augmented and virtual reality, even in spectrally congested and challenging environments.” – Thomas Derham, Sr. Principal Scientist, Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, Broadcom Inc., and contributor to the Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi QoS Management task group

“CommScope is committed to ensuring that the networks and homes we serve are capable of enabling the lower latency and more deterministic connectivity that services require. Wi-Fi in both single family and multi-dwelling unit homes needs to be capable of prioritizing services such as working from home applications and emerging low latency immersive experiences (gaming, AR/VR). We welcome the new Wi-Fi QoS Management certification program and any initiatives that can deliver round trip quality of service for Wi-Fi.” –  Ian Wheelock, Engineering Fellow, CommScope

“End-to-end QoS support is extremely important for our devices to deliver better Wi-Fi experiences for a new breed of applications such as cloud, gaming, AR/VR, and video conferencing that demand low latency and higher traffic priority treatment. Intel is happy to be a leader of the QoS work at Wi-Fi Alliance and having our product be among the first ones to be certified for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management.” – Eric McLaughlin, VP Client Computing Group, GM Wireless Solutions Group, Intel Corporation

“Wi-Fi is an essential enabler for today’s digital economy and provides the backbone for multiple real-time applications with simultaneous usage of voice, video and data. ON Semiconductor has been a strong supporter of Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification programs to optimize Wi-Fi network performance. As such, QoS is a cornerstone of our technology platforms with built-in functionality to differentiate between traffic flows, giving precedence to high priority traffic and ensuring airtime fairness across both flow types and devices. It is all about improving user experience, and reducing latency, packet loss, and jitter.” - Irvind Ghai, vice president of marketing, Wireless Connectivity and Signal Process Division, ON Semiconductor

“Wi-Fi QoS Management is very valuable to provide improved user experiences for throughput and latency intensive applications, such as gaming, video and multimedia applications. By verifying interoperability between access points and client devices on Wi-Fi networks, this certification program from Wi-Fi Alliance is an important milestone to help the benefits of Wi-Fi QoS Management reach their full potential.” – Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, Connectivity and Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

For more information, please visit https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-qos-management.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 65,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Follow Wi-Fi Alliance:
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facebook.com/wificertified
twitter.com/wifialliance
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Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com

Wi-Fi Easy Connect™ and Wi-Fi EasyMesh™ evolve to drive superior home Wi-Fi experience

Austin, Texas – February 4, 2021 – Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Easy Connect™ and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh™ now deliver more secure, smart, and efficient Wi-Fi® home networks. New features available for Wi-Fi Easy Connect™ now enable zero touch, secure provisioning of devices onto home networks, while additions to Wi-Fi EasyMesh™ increase Wi-Fi network capacity, support more simultaneous services, and deliver end-to-end service prioritization. New advancements now available for each program deliver benefits to users and service providers, while home Wi-Fi networks supporting both Wi-Fi Easy Connect and Wi-Fi EasyMesh establish smarter networks that are interoperable, secure, easy to set up, flexible, and extend high quality Wi-Fi throughout the home.

“Today’s homes are built on Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ continually progresses to deliver more advanced Wi-Fi networks that meet the needs of increasingly diverse devices and services,” said Kevin Robinson, senior vice president of marketing, Wi-Fi Alliance. “By making it easier to set up and manage Wi-Fi networks, while still supporting strong security and ensuring consistent home coverage, Wi-Fi is helping to advance the connected home experience.”

Wi-Fi Easy Connect simplifies the process of adding Wi-Fi devices with limited or no display interface – such as smart doorbells, lightbulbs, or smoke detectors– to both home and enterprise Wi-Fi networks, while supporting advanced WPA3™ security. New features available for Wi-Fi Easy Connect enable simple and flexible network authentication and onboarding, and introduce two new onboarding and configuration methods: zero touch cloud-based technology or Near Field Communication (NFC) tag. Onboarding by scanning the quick response (QR) code is still available. The easy process allows devices to gain secure network access using the latest security protocols, and devices will remain configured when there is a change to network settings, including a change in SSID. Based on public-key cryptography, Wi-Fi Easy Connect provides the ability to strongly authenticate and manage individual devices on the network and enforce network security policies on an individual device basis.

Wi-Fi EasyMesh networks employ multiple access points working together to form a unified mesh network that provides smart, high-performance Wi-Fi coverage throughout the home. With support for Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi EasyMesh extends the latest generation of Wi-Fi throughout the home and delivers greater capacity, reduced latency, and advanced features to support more simultaneous services and applications. Wi-Fi EasyMesh supports configuration of traffic prioritization policies for improved experiences in low latency applications – such as ensuring real-time, interactive video display is not impacted by less time-sensitive applications. Wi-Fi EasyMesh provides enhanced diagnostics and metrics with full support for Wi-Fi Data Elements™, enabling service providers to more proactively identify and resolve Wi-Fi network issues. Wi-Fi EasyMesh can also leverage Wi-Fi Easy Connect for user-friendly onboarding of additional access points to further extend home network coverage where it is needed.

Wi-Fi Easy Connect and Wi-Fi EasyMesh reduce complexity of Wi-Fi home networks, improve security and network management capabilities, and drive a better experience for a variety of home Wi-Fi applications and services. For more information please visit: https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-easy-connect and https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-easymesh.

Industry support for Wi-Fi Easy Connect and Wi-Fi EasyMesh:

“Proliferation of Wi-Fi EasyMesh devices ensures interoperability for a multi-vendor Wi-Fi infrastructure at home. With our EQUIPE and CloudCheck product lines, we heavily invest in the future of mesh networking and are proud to contribute to Wi-Fi EasyMesh standards development in Wi-Fi Alliance.” – Tuncay Cil, Chief Strategy Officer, ASSIA

“This release of Wi-Fi EasyMesh and Wi-Fi Easy Connect focuses on securing the Connected Home experience, making it easy for end-users to connect their devices and self-install APs to improve their Wi-Fi coverage. CableLabs was happy to contribute to the development of these programs because they allow our members to proactively manage their networks using Wi-Fi Data Elements and provide a resilient in-home connectivity experience.” – Darshak Thakore, Principal Architect at CableLabs

“As one of the original contributors to the Wi-Fi Easy Connect and Wi-Fi EasyMesh specifications, CommScope fully supports the continued evolution of these programs to make it easy as possible for consumers to get the vital services they need for their digital lives from the Wi-Fi home. The goal of these two programs aligns with CommScope’s own goal of seamless onboarding of Wi-Fi devices in the home, as well as the ability to introduce multi-vendor meshing access points into the home ecosystem for both consumer retail investment and service provider driven solutions.” – Charles Cheevers, CTO, Home Networks, CommScope

“As one of the companies on multiple Wi-Fi EasyMesh test beds, MediaTek continues to offer support and technical expertise to Wi-Fi Alliance as it advances industry Wi-Fi standards. MediaTek’s chipsets have a long history of supporting Wi-Fi EasyMesh capabilities. Our close cooperation with Wi-Fi Alliance strengthens MediaTek’s position as a distinguished provider of Wi-Fi solutions, delivering the best connected experiences for everyone.” – Alan Hsu, Corporate Vice President at MediaTek

“Standards-based technologies for simply and securely on-boarding devices, while supporting peak performance across today's popular mesh-style networks, are imperative given today's massive acceleration in Wi-Fi demand. Qualcomm Technologies has long been committed to driving seamless and immersive experiences, with a pioneering history of advancing mesh networking and solving complex provisioning challenges, and we look forward to continued support of Wi-Fi Easy Connect and Wi-Fi EasyMesh across our Wi-Fi product portfolio." – Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, Connectivity and Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 65,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Follow Wi-Fi Alliance:
wi-fi.org/beacon
facebook.com/wificertified
twitter.com/wifialliance
linkedin.com/company/wi-fi-alliance

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com

New study finds Wi-Fi® is a major global economic engine

Austin, TX – February 3, 2021 – A new study commissioned by Wi-Fi Alliance® estimates the current annual global economic value of Wi-Fi® will reach $3.3 trillion in 2021, and projects it will reach $4.9 trillion by 2025. These forecasts suggest an increase of nearly $3 trillion in value from 2018 to 2025 – a 150 percent growth – underscoring Wi-Fi is a very significant global economic engine.

Wi-Fi’s economic value in 15 economies was assessed based on several key factors and global developments impacting the Wi-Fi industry. Calculations of each factor – including free Wi-Fi access, residential and enterprise savings, Wi-Fi 6 adoption, availability of 6 GHz spectrum, and the coronavirus pandemic – were combined with implications specific to each country to develop the economic value.

Key findings from the report demonstrate Wi-Fi contributes:

• Australia: $34.7 billion in economic value today, $41.7 billion by 2025
• Brazil: $105.2 billion in economic value today, $124.3 billion by 2025
• Colombia: $18.9 billion in economic value today, $41.4 billion by 2025
• European Union: $457.6 billion in economic value today, $637.2 billion by 2025
• France: $62.5 billion in economic value today, $104 billion by 2025
• Germany: $134.5 billion in economic value today, $173.3 billion by 2025
• Japan: $251.1 billion in economic value today, $324.9 billion by 2025
• Mexico: $56.6 billion in economic value today, $117.5 billion by 2025
• New Zealand: $6.7 billion in economic value today, $9.8 billion by 2025
• Poland: $16.1 billion in economic value today, $21.6 billion by 2025
• Singapore: $10.6 billion in economic value today, $12.4 billion by 2025
• South Korea: $89.3 billion in economic value today, $139.5 billion by 2025
• Spain: $40.4 billion in economic value today, $54.1 billion by 2025
• United Kingdom: $98.8 billion in economic value today, $108.5 billion by 2025
• United States: $995 billion in economic value today, $1.58 trillion by 2025

“Wi-Fi is one of the great technology success stories, and Wi-Fi’s economic contribution gives it a leading role as a global economic engine,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “As the world relies on Wi-Fi to support our daily lives, Wi-Fi Alliance remains committed to ensuring the unlicensed spectrum landscape will accommodate tremendous Wi-Fi innovation on the horizon.”

Wi-Fi has proven to improve economic resiliency and its value continues to increase as next generation devices and deployments become available. Wi-Fi 6 and future generations of Wi-Fi, coupled with access to 6 GHz spectrum, provide the capacity, coverage, and performance required to give quality experiences in demanding environments and further contribute to Wi-Fi’s economic growth by 2025. Wi-Fi enables advanced services and applications and is a key component in global efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural and isolated geographies.

“Wi-Fi’s inherent strengths have driven the global economic value to new levels and proved to be the answer for meeting the growing demand for connectivity,” said Dr. Raul Katz, study lead author and President of Telecom Advisory Services. “Wi-Fi has played a critical role for consumers and businesses during the pandemic. It is important to ensure sufficient spectrum to continue its social and economic benefits now and in the future.”                                                                                                                                         

Details on key factors driving Wi-Fi value are available in the study. Please visit www.valueofwifi.com for more information.

About the study
Wi-Fi Alliance commissioned a study from Telecom Advisory Services (TAS), headed by Dr. Raul Katz, to analyze the economic contribution of Wi-Fi in 2021 and forecast to 2025. The study focuses on 15 world economies, and then calculates an estimated global value. Country-specific evaluations for Australia, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, as well as a European Union estimate are included.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 65,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
(415) 692-0745 ext. 116

Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. – January 28, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance® announces release of the specification which defines the architecture, protocols, and functionality for the Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system-to-AFC device interface. This announcement follows the U.S. Federal Communications Commission decision to authorize operations of standard-power access points under AFC control in the 6 GHz frequency band. Wi-Fi Alliance is a global leader in interoperability testing focused on delivering affordable and reliable Wi-Fi® connectivity. Development of this specification demonstrates the commitment by Wi-Fi Alliance to maximizing 6 GHz spectrum opportunity and to expanding Wi-Fi 6E benefits and innovation.

“This specification represents remarkable collaboration among our member companies,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Alliance is advancing industry goals to accelerate Wi-Fi innovation and ecosystem growth in the 6 GHz frequency band.”

Wi-Fi Alliance members have mobilized around Wi-Fi 6E certification. Wi-Fi 6E is gaining rapid adoption worldwide, with more than 338 million devices projected to enter the market in 2021. This specification will enable Wi-Fi Alliance members to develop an array of innovative Wi-Fi 6E products that will operate under AFC control. The Wi-Fi Alliance effort to define the AFC system will continue, ensuring worldwide adoption, interoperability, security, and reliability expected of Wi-Fi.

The specification can be downloaded here: https://www.wi-fi.org/file/afc-system-to-afc-device-interface-draft-specification

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com

Austin, Texas and Washington D.C. – January 21, 2021 – 
Wi-Fi Alliance® congratulates Commissioner Rosenworcel on being designated as Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission. Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel's proven leadership and extensive experience will help advance Wi-Fi® connectivity for all Americans, and we look forward to working together on achieving this goal.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com

New applications supporting COVID-19 guidelines, global Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 6 momentum, and greater WPA3™ security adoption expected next year

Austin, Texas – January 11, 2021 –Wi-Fi® played a critical role in providing digital infrastructure to support increased connectivity demands during the global pandemic. With greater worldwide availability of 6 GHz, wider adoption of WPA3™ security, and global momentum of Wi-Fi 6 across more enterprise and vertical markets expected in the coming year, Wi-Fi is ready to deliver innovation and advanced connectivity when and where users need it most. As the world reflects on a challenging 2020, Wi-Fi Alliance® looks ahead at five Wi-Fi predictions for 2021 that will help people safely resume their normal activities, achieve better performance in their home networks, and deliver greater reliability and latency for telehealth, virtual learning, and telepresence.

Wi-Fi Alliance predictions for Wi-Fi in 2021 include:

1. Wi-Fi 6 global momentum

Wi-Fi 6 is the latest generation of Wi-Fi offering greater capacity, efficiency, and performance for advanced connectivity. Wi-Fi 6 will see strong global adoption across PCs, access points, smartphones, and IoT devices in enterprises, homes, and public arenas – with nearly 2 billion Wi-Fi 6 device shipments expected in 2021. The pandemic has proven a strong need for state-of-the-art networks to support more online activity. Wi-Fi 6 networks will become more widely deployed in the home and see steady rollout in the enterprise to ensure all networked devices perform at an optimal level and support environments with greater capacity and coverage. Wi-Fi 6 will be deployed in market verticals, such as industrial and hospital networks, delivering wireless efficiency and low latency connections. New connected use cases facilitated by Wi-Fi 6 will emerge to meet health and safety guidelines amid COVID-19 at transportation hubs, airports, and stadiums to deliver social distance measurement, security checkpoints, mobile concessions, health check screening, and passenger communications.

2. Wi-Fi 6E will deliver 6 GHz to users

Regulatory momentum around 6 GHz will lead to greater availability of unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi worldwide in 2021. The U.S. recently cleared unlicensed access to 1200 MHz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band. The U.K., Europe, South Korea, Chile, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates are expected to deliver 6 GHz to their citizens before the end of the year, and many other countries are following their lead. Users will see worldwide rollout of Wi-Fi 6E devices as multiple vendors embrace 6 GHz. Up to seven superwide 160 MHz channels can be used with this newly available spectrum, triggering development and innovation for higher bandwidth applications including unified communications, AR/VR, and even holographic video. New use cases will emerge to support telemedicine, virtual learning, and telepresence that rely on Wi-Fi 6E’s speed and latency benefits. With features like OFDMA extended into the less congested 6 GHz band, Wi-Fi 6E will help address the reliability and deterministic needs demanded by industrial applications, helping facilitate the transition from wired to wireless in Industrial IoT environments. Wi-Fi Alliance certification for Wi-Fi 6E will ensure Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ devices operating in 6 GHz worldwide are secure and interoperable, and will serve as an inflection point for greater adoption.

3. Passpoint® bridges the gap between Wi-Fi and cellular

Solutions such as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint® will help bridge the gap between cellular and Wi-Fi to make Wi-Fi more accessible and secure. Passpoint streamlines Wi-Fi access and eliminates the need to reauthenticate to networks previously visited, enabling users to focus on productivity without manually switching their device between cellular and Wi-Fi to determine the best connection. The industry will see greater Passpoint adoption through initiatives such as Wireless Broadband Alliance OpenRoaming and Aruba Air Pass, to provide seamless Wi-Fi connectivity beyond a user’s home, automate roaming between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, and deliver next generation services to enterprises – all with advanced security. Passpoint, along with other Wi-Fi Alliance programs like Wi-Fi Vantage™, will help enable Wi-Fi and cellular to be stronger complements and provide enterprise-wide, citywide, and global wireless services.

4. Strong adoption of WPA3 security

The latest generation of Wi-Fi security, WPA3, brings critical updates to personal and enterprise networks to protect users wherever they connect. Wi-Fi Alliance now requires all new Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices to support WPA3 security, and in 2021 the industry will see greater adoption of WPA3 across more devices, networks, and environments – including sensitive environments like governments and financial institutions. The number of devices connected to the internet, including machines, sensors, and smart home devices is forecast to reach 41.6 billion in the next four years1. With that tremendous growth comes demand for strong security mechanisms to protect the increasing amount of user data generated by IoT devices. 

5. Wi-Fi is critical link to keep businesses and individuals connected

Wi-Fi has played a key role in helping reduce the negative impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. As the world maintained social distance, Wi-Fi limited the impact of social isolation by enabling business, education, healthcare, and other services to move online. The way users work, socialize, and communicate may never be the same as in pre-pandemic times, and Wi-Fi will now be acknowledged for delivering a strong digital foundation that enables the world to maintain productivity and economic prosperity. In 2021, Wi-Fi will help further mitigate economic damage resulting from the global pandemic. Wi-Fi will keep economies running, supporting telecommuting needs, distance learning, telemedicine, and delivering connectivity to remote or underserved areas. The need for strong, reliable multi-device connectivity highlighted during the pandemic will generate permanent effects as we continue to adapt to more of our daily activities moving online. Wi-Fi will be seen as an indispensable technology providing a key resource in many aspects of our daily lives. Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, Passpoint, and other Wi-Fi technologies will drive a surge in technology innovation continuing well after the pandemic is behind us.

For 2021 Wi-Fi Alliance member predictions from AirTies, Aruba, ASSIA, Boingo, Broadcom, Cisco, CommScope, Extreme Networks, Intel, Laird Connectivity, LANCOM Systems, Linksys, ON Semiconductor, Qualcomm Technologies, and Texas Instruments, see our full video playlist here: http://bit.ly/2MId5Qx.

1IDC, June 2019

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
(415) 692-0745 ext. 116

Wi-Fi® interoperability in 6 GHz promotes worldwide innovation and diverse ecosystem

Austin, Texas – January 7, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance® certification for Wi-Fi 6E is now available to deliver interoperability for devices operating in the 6 GHz spectrum. Interoperability certification for Wi-Fi 6E – as part of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ – is introduced as global momentum for Wi-Fi® operation in the 6 GHz band increases daily. Wi-Fi 6E brings the immense benefits of 6 GHz spectrum to consumers, device manufacturers, and service providers as the band is being made available around the world. Wi-Fi Alliance certification helps ensure users receive a secure, reliable, and interoperable experience with Wi-Fi 6E devices.  

Following the decision by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to open 1200 MHz of 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi use, the U.K., Europe, Chile, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates have also made the decision to deliver 6 GHz for Wi-Fi. Countries including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Jordan are quickly progressing towards opening 6 GHz for unlicensed operation. Wi-Fi Alliance is delivering on its promise to make certification for Wi-Fi 6E products available as the spectrum becomes available. Multiple product vendors are already announcing Wi-Fi 6E devices that make use of the superwide 160 MHz channels and uncongested bandwidth in 6 GHz to deliver multigigabit, low latency Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ provides a standards-based approach for product vendors to introduce secure and interoperable Wi-Fi 6E products throughout the world, helping to create a diverse device ecosystem.  

“Wi-Fi 6E will see rapid adoption in 2021 with more than 338 million devices entering the market, and nearly 20 percent of all Wi-Fi 6 device shipments supporting 6 GHz by 2022,” said Phil Solis, research director at IDC. “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.”

Wi-Fi 6E certification utilizes cutting-edge WPA3™ security that continually evolves to address market needs. WPA3 has recently been updated to support even more robust password generation, mitigate additional attacks, and further protect and maintain privacy on Wi-Fi networks. Wi-Fi 6E extends into the 6 GHz band the capabilities of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6, including orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), target wake time (TWT), and multi-user multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO). These features all benefit from the additional 6 GHz spectrum capacity and the availability of up to seven superwide 160 MHz channels to move more data and deliver high-bandwidth Wi-Fi 6E applications including unified communications, AR/VR, and holographic video. Wi-Fi 6E delivers lower latency to satisfy industrial IoT and enterprise environment requirements. Wi-Fi 6E brings additional capacity, speed, and reduced latency for critical activities such as telecommuting, telepresence, and distance learning.

A new animation highlights the role of Wi-Fi 6E in delivering Wi-Fi innovation.

“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.”

Member companies providing interoperability test bed devices that are among the first Wi-Fi 6E certified products include: Broadcom, Intel, MaxLinear, MediaTek, ON Semiconductor, and Qualcomm.

For more information, please visit: www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-6.

Industry support for Wi-Fi 6E certification:

“Wi-Fi 6E will dramatically improve the quality of home connectivity for service providers and their customers. Wi-Fi 6E provides more spectrum and larger channel bandwidth with increased capacity to support more devices at far faster speeds. It is a critical and timely development as more people rely on Wi-Fi for working from home, distance learning, telemedicine, home entertainment, and more. Airties is proud to support Wi-Fi Alliance’s new Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 program for the next-generation of 6 GHz devices.” – Metin Taskin, CTO of Airties

“Over the past two decades, we’ve been at the forefront of Wi-Fi innovation and advocacy to meet the business-critical needs of the enterprise. As such, we’re committed to delivering a full portfolio of high performing Wi-Fi 6E certified APs that take advantage of the greater system capacity, lower interference, and increased data rates the 6 GHz spectrum provides. As we continue to invest in Wi-Fi 6E to support outdoor, hospitality and remote deployments, customers will be able to take advantage of the emerging, next-generation use cases for 6 GHz while guaranteeing performance for latency-sensitive, high-bandwidth, and IoT services.” – Gayle Levin, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company

“Wi-Fi 6E is the best thing to happen to Wi-Fi since its inception. Wi-Fi 6E will allow enough spectrum for many neighbors’ overlapping Wi-Fi streams to broadcast simultaneously without interfering with each other. For most households this means more reliable and higher capacity connectivity without wires.” – Tuncay Cil, Chief Strategy Officer, ASSIA

“Wi-Fi operation in the 6 GHz band translates to greater network performance with fast speeds and improved security for a host of current and emerging use cases. With the certification availability for Wi-Fi 6E devices, connectivity providers like Boingo can more rapidly bring the promise of next generation Wi-Fi to dense connected environments like major airports, stadiums, military bases and multifamily communities.” – Dr. Derek Peterson, chief technology officer, Boingo

"Wi-Fi 6E ushers in the next 20 years of Wi-Fi. The pristine 6 GHz band with advanced sixth generation Wi-Fi features can now deliver over 2 Gbps to your hands. Digitally immersive AR/VR experiences in socially disruptive applications like telemedicine and education are now a reality with Wi-Fi 6E. Broadcom congratulates Wi-Fi Alliance on this pivotal milestone. We are also honored that the BCM4389, which the FCC recently authorized as the first Wi-Fi device to operate in the 6 GHz band, is in the Wi-Fi 6E certification testbed. We look forward to the exciting products launching this year powered by our full portfolio of Wi-Fi 6E chipsets spanning phones, routers and enterprise access points." – Vijay Nagarajan, Vice President of Marketing, Wireless Communications & Connectivity Division, Broadcom

“We welcome the announcement of Wi-Fi 6E certification. Wi-Fi 6E will ensure a better user experience, providing much needed increase Quality of Service using the additional spectrum. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 certification program, with the additional option for Wi-Fi 6E, will ensure interoperability of devices using the 6 GHz band. CEVA has contributed to the incredible growth of the Wi-Fi market, including Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6 and now Wi-Fi 6E. We are proud to have licensed our RivieraWaves Wi-Fi IP and platforms to a number of major semiconductor companies addressing a broad range of market segments including wearables, medical, IoT, smart home, access points and gateways.” – Ange Aznar, VP & GM of Wireless IoT BU at CEVA

“Wi-Fi 6E is not just a major step forward for Wi-Fi, but will be instrumental as we build the Internet of the future. Cisco is proud to work alongside Wi-Fi Alliance to ensure the 6 GHz spectrum is available for unlicensed use, providing a foundation for unlimited innovation. Wi-Fi 6E represents significant advancements in security, reliability and performance, which has never been more important as Wi-Fi traffic continues to grow exponentially.” – Matt MacPherson, Wireless CTO at Cisco

“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. 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.” – Matthew Zelesko, Chief Technology Officer, Comcast Cable

“Wi-Fi 6E stands ready to transform industries via the widespread availability of deterministic, low-latency, unlicensed-band access using channels 4-16x wider than available in the traditional bands. As ever, Wi-Fi Alliance leads the way in ensuring the entire ecosystem is prepared to support that transformation. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with Wi-Fi Alliance to help drive this next phase of Wi-Fi industry growth.” – Pramod Badjate, Senior Vice President and General Manager, RUCKUS Business, CommScope

“CommScope has been fundamental in helping the world’s service providers deploy Wi-Fi solutions for the last 20 years and 2021 will be no different. We expect to introduce our first Wi-Fi 6E access point and gateways later this year in both service provider and retail markets. The rapid emergence of Wi-Fi 6E based consumer value applications and clients will be key in driving consumer adoption and use of Wi-Fi 6E. We are committed to developing Wi-Fi 6E for whole home meshing networks, deterministic video applications and smart media devices, and new low latency services on these platforms next year. We also expect Wi-Fi 6E to gain market momentum in 2022 as more countries authorize the use of 6 GHz spectrum. Wi-Fi 6E solutions will share the stage with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 to create a toolbox of cost and performance effective solutions for the world’s service providers and retail consumers.” – Charles Cheevers, CTO, Home Networks, CommScope

“Wi-Fi Alliance certification programs are essential to ensure confidence around Wi-Fi device interoperability. New Wi-Fi 6E capability represents one of the single most important advancements in recent wireless history and is critical to helping address the growing demand for capacity, broadband access, and new usages. We are delighted our Intel® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 product will be the first PC client solution to receive Wi-Fi 6E certification, and that its use in the Wi-Fi Alliance certification process will help enable amazing experiences with future Wi-Fi 6E devices.” – Eric McLaughlin VP, Client Computing Group; GM, Wireless Solutions Group, Intel Corporation

“We have been waiting for this moment for over a decade! The opening of a new band, 6 GHz, is going to be a game changer for people, enterprise, a wide swath of industry sectors. Faster speeds, lower latency, higher capacity, are just some of the benefits of using Wi-Fi 6E certified networking products. At Linksys, we believe the combination of Mesh and Wi-Fi 6E will truly unlock the full power of Wi-Fi 6E into seamless and fast connectivity to all corners of the home and businesses. Our first Wi-Fi 6E product, the Linksys AXE8400, to launch in Spring of 2021 has already been recognized by CES Innovation Awards for its ability to manage the congestion of tomorrow’s traffic. By 2024 the average home is expected to have 44 connected devices and Wi-Fi 6E future proofs these capacity needs.” – Dave Stritzinger, General Manager, Linksys

“MaxLinear is proud to be part of the Wi-Fi 6E certification testbed from Wi-Fi Alliance and also an enabler of Wi-Fi 6E infrastructure for countries that have already enabled 6GHz. We expect Wi-Fi 6E to transform communication networks and extend the user experience by enabling faster speeds, higher capacity and lower latency with no congestion from legacy devices when operating in the newly available 1200 MHz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band. The announcement shows our unwavering commitment to the development and enablement of innovative solutions that drive next generation communication systems.” – Doron Tal, General Manager Broadband Access at MaxLinear

“MediaTek has one of the broadest portfolios of Wi-Fi connectivity solutions, and we will continue to expand our portfolio with Wi-Fi 6E certified solutions as part of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s new Wi-Fi 6E certification program. At MediaTek our goal is to give our customers the best, newest technology and bring consumers even faster and more seamless connectivity. Currently, MediaTek’s Wi-Fi chipsets are found in hundreds of millions of smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, routers and IoT devices from the industry’s top brands. Our solutions support new unlicensed 6GHz band, and the latest Wi-Fi features for enhanced performance (1024-QAM and OFDMA), the highest capacity (MU-MIMO) and longer battery life (TWT) and deliver the highest level of security (WPA3).” – Alan Hsu, Corporate Vice President & General Manager, Intelligent Connectivity BU, MediaTek

“With their ability to access the uncongested 6 GHz band, Wi-Fi 6E certified devices will unleash a game-changing boost in capacity and performance for both home and enterprise Wi-Fi deployments. With our new Wi-Fi 6E tri-band chipset, NXP is proud to play a key role in enabling the first wave of Wi-Fi 6E solutions, which will lay the foundation for a wave of new and exciting use cases and devices.” – Larry Olivas, Head of Marketing for Wireless Connectivity Solutions at NXP Semiconductors.

“ON Semiconductor has been an early supporter of Wi-Fi Alliance’s testing and certification programs. As Wi-Fi 6E availability ushers in the benefits of the 6GHz spectrum, innovative applications will leverage this high-performance connectivity with greater capacity, increased speed and lower latency for the home, enterprise, industrial and automotive markets.” – Irvind Ghai, vice president of marketing, Wireless Connectivity and Signal Processing Division at ON Semiconductor

“Applying the already transformative characteristics of Wi-Fi 6 into the 6 GHz band brings massive opportunities to consumers and businesses by evolving capacity, latency, and overall performance. This Wi-Fi 6E certification program is a critical milestone to make 6 GHz operation a commercial reality for users around the world, and Qualcomm Technologies is ready to support at scale with client and networking solutions set to deliver powerfully immersive experiences as we transition into a bold new era of wireless connectivity.” – Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, Connectivity and Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“Samsung is proud to work together with the Wi-Fi Alliance in support of the Wi-Fi 6E launch to create a faster and smoother connected experience. As a leading innovator of mobile experiences, we were among the very first to offer Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 products and look forward to introducing new Galaxy devices able to take advantage of the increased speeds, reduced latency and expanded bandwidth that comes with connecting to frequencies in the 6 GHz band very soon.” – JM Choi, VP/Head of Group/Convergence R&D Group, Samsung Electronics

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
(415) 692-0745 ext. 116

Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. – December 11, 2020 – Wi-Fi Alliance® commends Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) on the consultation to allow Wi-Fi® operations in the 5.925-7.125 GHz band. This momentous decision will allow introduction of the latest Wi-Fi 6E technology to benefit the Brazilian citizens and economy.   

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
(415) 692-0745 ext. 116

Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. – December 8, 2020 – Wi-Fi Alliance® congratulates Nathan Symington on his confirmation as an FCC Commissioner. Mr. Symington’s extensive experience and knowledge of the wireless industry will play a key role in enabling connectivity for all Americans, and we look forward to working with him to deliver the benefits of Wi-Fi® to users.

We also recognize FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly for his many years of dedicated public service and strong support for Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi industry is grateful for Mr. O’Rielly’s commitment and leadership on innovative spectrum polices and continual recognition of Wi-Fi’s important role in connectivity, innovation, and economic prosperity.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
(415) 692-0745 ext. 116

Telecom Advisory Services paper concludes Wi-Fi mitigates negative impacts of global pandemic

Austin, Texas – December 9, 2020 – A new paper demonstrates the role of Wi-Fi® in mitigating the socioeconomic disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper, released today by Telecom Advisory Services, underscores various ways Wi-Fi is helping to improve economic resiliency and is contributing to critical use cases at a personal and enterprise level.

The findings demonstrate multiple areas where Wi-Fi is essential to maintaining digital resilience during the global pandemic. At the individual consumer level, Wi-Fi delivers essential connectivity that allows users to accomplish daily activities and carry out tasks that previously required physical contact – such as grocery shopping, buying essential goods, virtual learning, and telehealth appointments – all while supporting simultaneous access to these activities at once. At the enterprise level, Wi-Fi provides workers with virtual tools for telecommuting and digitization of supply chains and distribution channels to maintain productivity when face-to-face interactions with colleagues, customers, and suppliers must be avoided. Additionally, free public Wi-Fi networks deployed outdoors have provided essential connectivity for COVID-19 healthcare facilities, “Wi-Fi on wheels” for education, and coverage in rural or underserved areas.   

“The global pandemic further highlights Wi-Fi’s role as a critical component of every country’s digital infrastructure,” said Raul Katz, President, Telecom Advisory Services. “Wi-Fi networks are a significant contributor to national resilience in the face of COVID-19.”

The paper concludes that countries with highly developed digital infrastructure can reduce the long-term, negative economic impact implied by COVID-19 by more than half, and elaborates on three areas where Wi-Fi plays the most socially impactful role during natural disasters such as the global pandemic: distance learning, telecommuting, and elder care. The findings suggest that Wi-Fi’s role in critical use cases mitigates economic damage by keeping the economy up and running and allowing people and businesses to continue operating during the global pandemic. 

To access the full paper, please visit: https://www.wi-fi.org/file/covid-19-and-the-economic-value-of-wi-fi-2020. 

About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Burke
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
(415) 692-0745 ext. 116