Wi-Fi speeds set to triple?

The Wi-Fi Alliance® recently announced they were expanding their 802.11ac specification to include new features – the most exciting being the MU-MIMO. These upgrades promise an increase in Wi-Fi speeds of up to 3x.

The features enable wi-fi to ‘more efficiently handle high-bandwidth applications from an increasing number of smartphones, tablets, TV’s and other devices simultaneously connected to wi-fi networks.’  This is good news, with greater capacity and greater speeds for all users.

The most anticipated new feature is MU-MIMO – Multi-user Multiple Input Multiple Output – which allows more devices to operate simultaneously on the same network without sacrificing speed or performance.  Just think of the benefit where currently Wi-Fi access points are only able to be utilised one at a time.

The new features are:

• MU-MIMO: Networks with MU-MIMO are capable of multitasking by sending data to multiple devices at once rather than one-at-a-time, improving overall network efficiency and throughput
• 160 MHz channels: Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac increases the maximum channel bandwidth from 80 MHz channels to 160 MHz channels, potentially doubling transmission speeds
• Four spatial streams: Device speeds are proportional to the number of spatial streams. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac now includes support for four spatial streams, up from three spatial streams.
• Extended 5 GHz channel support: Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac encourages device support for a greater number of available channels in 5 GHz. Support for additional channels makes more efficient use of available spectrum and reduces interference and congestion by minimizing the number of networks operating on overlapping channels.

What is Altai doing to cater for the upgraded 802.11ac specification?

Altai are set to release a range of Wave2 indoor and outdoor products starting from the 3^rd quarter of 2016 which will utilise the new and improved specification.

Product information will be provided at launch but Geoff Carroll at Powertec is available to assist with any queries in the meantime.