introducing11ax-blog

[introducing11ax-blog]

Introducing 11ax- The advent of a new era

The next big thing is here! Yes, I am talking about 802.11ax. Until now, 802.11ac standard had been the hot topic of discussion in wireless. 802.11ac is an extension of 802.11n and those of you who were around the roll out of 11n will be hit with an instant déjà vu. On the contrary, 11ax is build from the ground up with significant enhancements. Smartphones are getting more powerful by the day, driving demand for more data. According to NPD research, “81% of all US smartphone users stream video. These users consume, on average, 6.2 GB of data (cellular and Wi-Fi combined) for video streaming purposes each month, versus older smartphone users who use an average of 4.9 GB of data for video streaming monthly.” [1] With the soaring demand for data, it becomes essential to develop new RF (Radio Frequency) technologies to cater to this need and prepare our networks for the next generation Wi-Fi.

Fig: Evolution of standards in Wi-Fi

Evolution of Wi-Fi

Before we delve into 11ax, let’s try to understand how Wi-Fi has evolved over time. Figure 1 captures the evolution of standards in Wi-Fi. Wireless technology has its roots as far back as the 19th century, with a history that dates back to 1970s. Wi-Fi or IEEE 802.11 technology, is used to provide local area network (LAN) communications using RF. This technology was first used by U.S. military during World War II, to transmit data using classified encryption technology over RF medium, in order to send battle planes across enemy territory.

Legacy 802.11 was developed in the late 1990’s, with max data rate of up to 54Mbps. Next came 802.11n which provided data rates up to 600Mbps, wider channels, better modulation and dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) support. With wider channels, the max data rates increases which in turn provides higher throughput and better user experience. The big difference introduced by 11ac over 11n is, even wider channels which doubled the Wi-Fi capacity and standardization of beamforming. With the ability of beamforming, the client and AP (Access Point) come to a mutual understanding to compute channel matrix which would enable to focus RF energy towards each user. 802.11ac came in two waves, the Wave 1 and Wave 2 standard.

Wave 2 11ac technology brought to us concepts of further wider channels and MU-MIMO (Multiple User Multiple In Multiple Out) technology. Data rates of up to 1.3Gbps is attainable with Wave 1, but with Wave 2 this has increased to 2.34Gbps. MU-MIMO works only in the downstream direction, AP to client. For upstream traffic, client to AP communication SU-MIMO  Microsoft Word - 802.11ax-final.docx (Single User Multiple In Multiple Out) technology is used. MU-MIMO optimizes the efficiency of the network by sharing the available spectrum across multiple devices effectively. Think of it as carpooling, where devices are people and lanes are spectrum. Instead of 3 different people travelling alone in their own cars, they can all carpool together which increases efficiency and reduces congestion. Fig 2 illustrates the carpool analogy to MUMIMO.

Fig 2: Illustrates the carpool analogy to MU-MIMO

Let’s ponder over the various questions revolving in our mind about 11ax.

Why should I care about 11ax?

11ax is designed with density in mind and improves user throughput by up to 4x compared to 11ac in dense environments such as stadiums, hotspots, train stations and airports. Additionally, it provides support for low power, low complexity devices as in the case of IoT devices, wearable devices, sensors and automation, medical equipment etc. Fig 3 shows an example of a dense environment where 11ax can be deployed.

Fig 3: Example of a stadium where 11ax can be deployed

How does it work?

802.11ax works by increasing the MAC layer speed for multiple users. The goal of 11ax is to effectively use channel, frequency and space rather than just improving on data rates. Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is a technology borrowed from 4G to multiplex more users in the same channel bandwidth. OFDM-A and MUMIMO enhancements provides medium controlled access in order to maximize Wi-Fi capacity. With the increase in channel widths, there are limited number of available channels in 5GHz. As a result, increasing spectral efficiency for the available channels becomes key to improving Wi-Fi performance. OFDM-A feature supports sub-channelization which increases the max data rates.

What does 11ax bring to the table?

Some of the unique benefits of 11ax are:

Data speeds that can reach up 10Gbps

Enhances the operation of 5G as well as the 2.4G band.

Improves overall capacity up to 4x compared to 11ac wave 2

Increase in scale for both indoor as well as outdoor deployments

MUMIMO is now available for downstream and upstream traffic

Enhances battery power management, extending battery life

Backward compatible to legacy standards

When will it be available and should I wait?

Being in early stages of development, it will still take a while for 11ax production units to be available in the market. According to ABI research, by 2021 11ax technology would account for 57 percent of Wi-Fi chipsets, while IEEE predicts the chipsets to be available by 2018 and its certification to be completed by 2019. Nonetheless, 11ax will be here soon. Meanwhile continue riding the 11ac wave, and customers wanting to upgrade to the latest and greatest technology should procure 11ac wave 2 products.

802.11ax is just what today’s mobile-first data-hungry networks need. 11ax is not yet another extension to the 11ac standard, rather it is a brand-new exciting technology. With improvements boasting to up to 4x performance, it is would definitely be a game-changer in this industry and spike up the adoption rate higher than ever before. 802.11ax will take Wi-Fi to a whole new level, marking the advent of a new era in wireless communication.

[1] Video Content Consumption Driven by Younger Consumers