A cross-industry survey conducted by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) found that 83% of respondents planned to deploy Wi‑Fi 6/6E before the end of 2022.
The survey, which covered service providers, equipment manufacturers and enterprises worldwide, underscores the growing global demand for Wi‑Fi 6 and its expanded capabilities.
“Service providers, equipment manufacturers and enterprises worldwide see more value than ever in Wi‑Fi,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the WBA.
Access to 6 GHz spectrum supports more users and connected devices, enabling new use cases such as time‑sensitive networking (TSN) for Industry 4.0 and other latency‑sensitive applications.
Despite pandemic‑related uncertainty, 56% of respondents reported they were more confident about investing in Wi‑Fi than they were a year earlier, Rodrigues added.
This growing confidence is reflected in increased participation in WBA initiatives: member involvement rose by 15% versus 2020, and the alliance has a record 20 projects either underway or in development.
Members are particularly interested in convergence between 5G and Wi‑Fi 6, exploring how mobile operators can incorporate Wi‑Fi into their 5G strategies to maximise coverage and capacity.
To date, 41 countries have authorised 6 GHz spectrum for unlicensed use, and more than 338 million Wi‑Fi 6E devices were expected to enter the market in the referenced year. The WBA projected that by the end of 2022 nearly 20% of all Wi‑Fi 6 shipments would support 6 GHz operation.
These findings appear in the WBA Annual Industry Report 2022, which also provides updates on Wi‑Fi 7. Wi‑Fi 7 is projected to support theoretical throughputs up to 30 Gbps, and Wi‑Fi 7‑capable devices are anticipated to begin appearing around 2025.
A full copy of the report is available from the WBA.
(Photo by Jadon Kelly on Unsplash)
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