Wi-Fi Trends ＆ How Wi-Fi 6 Can Improve the IoT

Ask almost anyone about what they think the most important technology that they use every day is and they’re likely to say Wi-Fi, especially in our pandemic-influenced world. In fact, a recent worldwide study by Lenovo found that having, good reliable Wi-Fi is the most essential capability people said they need to enable a successful work from anywhere experience. Similarly, at home, if the Wi-Fi goes down, even the most fervent PC and smart home device aficionados quickly forget about their gadgets and often simply stop using them until their connections come back on. To put it simply, Wi-Fi is the lifeblood of the digital era.

Given its importance, it’s not surprising to see the rapid evolution and advancements that have been made to the Wi-Fi standard over the last few years. The most recent ones are Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, which offers a tremendous 1.2 GHz of new bandwidth available for Wi-Fi use thanks to the addition of the 6 GHz band. Among many new enhancements incorporated into Wi-Fi 6 are support for downlink and uplink MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output) and OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Access). The enhanced versions of MU-MIMO in Wi-Fi increase the number of signals that can be sent and received simultaneously on a Wi-Fi network as well as the range of those signals. OFDMA support in Wi-Fi 6 improves the efficiency of how the signals are sent. Together, these two technologies—along with many others—make Wi-Fi 6-capable networks faster, more reliable, and able to support larger number of devices, even on existing 2.4 and 5 GHz channels.

Most of the focus on Wi-Fi 6 has been on the speed improvements enabled by the new standard because, after all, who doesn’t want a faster network? For smart home and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices that don’t have challenging bandwidth demands, however, those speed differences really don’t matter because speeding up the data transmission rates doesn’t make the connected devices run any better.

Does that mean Wi-Fi 6 isn’t useful for IoT-type applications? Absolutely not. The key benefits, however, have to do with the spectral efficiency, increased number of simultaneous supported devices, and improved reliability and range that Wi-Fi 6 offers rather than speed. In addition, Wi-Fi 6 adds support for a technology called TWT (Target Wake Time), which allows devices that support it to fall into an ultra-low-power sleep-like mode that can improve energy efficiency.

Speaking of which, most IoT devices tend to operate in the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi range, in large part because transmitting and receiving signals on these lower frequencies requires less power than transmitting on higher frequencies like 5 or 6 GHz. Energy efficiency is absolutely essential for many IoT devices—especially those powered by batteries—and the ability to use less power can make a significant difference in the useful lifetime of an IoT device. In fact, in the case of a smart lock, the difference between running at 55 microamps vs. 250 microamps translates into 3 years of life on a single battery versus less than a year.

Not all Wi-Fi chips can function at these lower power modes, however. Most Wi-Fi chips operate at higher power levels because they’re optimized for the high-bandwidth requirements of devices like PCs, smartphones, smart TVs and more. SILICON LABS, however, has been creating low power Wi-Fi chips like the RS9116 that are specifically designed for the unique requirements of IoT devices. Not only can the RS9116 function at the lower power levels mentioned above, it incorporates capabilities that allow easier setup for IoT devices that offer little to no user interface because of their smaller size or specific design requirements. For device makers and designers, that’s a critical distinction to consider.

Another critical factor is simultaneous operation of Wi-Fi with other wireless standards and industry protocols, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, and others. As great as Wi-Fi is, it’s clearly not the only wireless solution in home, enterprise or industrial IoT environments. Practically speaking, it’s essential to be able to peacefully co-exist with multiple types of wireless signals. Importantly, this co-existence extends beyond just the physical layer and demands software stacks that have been designed and optimized to run simultaneously as well. To this end, Silicon Labs already has a wide range of Wi-Fi 4-capable chips that work alongside Bluetooth and other protocols. In addition, the company has a number of Wi-Fi 6-capable components with similar capabilities coming soon. Not only does this make the logical design process easier but integrating the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities into a single chip reduces the physical size requirements necessary to fit the part into device designs.

In addition to support for multiple physical standards, because Silicon Labs is heavily involved with development of the new Matter protocol, it’s working to offer interoperability with Matter as well. Matter sits at the application layer of the networking stack, so incorporating the ability to connect with other Matter-compatible devices in the hardware and software layers of Wi-Fi solutions requires extra effort if the integration effort isn’t done in advance.

Wi-Fi is clearly an integral technology for the wide range of smart devices we all use in our personal and professional lives today and its continued evolution is going to be a critical factor in device design and user experiences for a long time to come. As the standard adapts and evolves to new more demanding requirements, it’s important to remember that not all Wi-Fi solutions can fit all applications. For IoT device designers, Wi-Fi chips specifically targeted to their needs are going to be the option they need to consider as they think through their available choices.