The Road to Wi-Fi 6Dr Osama Aboul-MagdChairman, IEEE, 802.11ax Working GroupHuawei Technologies

Wi-Fi Technology Evolution

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Wi-Fi 1 (1997-1998)

Wi-Fi 2 (1999-2002)

Wi-Fi 3 (2003-2008)

Wi-Fi 4 (2009-2012)

Wi-Fi 5 (2013-2018)

Wi-Fi 6 (2019 - )

Wi-Fi Generation

Wi-Fi Technology Evolution (Mbps)

Wi-Fi technology has seen significant evolution over the years. From 2 Mbps in 1998 to almost 10 Gbpsin today’s Wi-Fi (an almost 5000-fold increase in the data rate). Evolution to higher data rates is driven by its increasing popularity.

More traffic crosses the Wi-Fi network

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/wcmc/2018/2608419/

Wi-Fi Technology Evolution

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

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Fixed/Wi-Fi from Wi-Fi-Only Devices (18% CAGR)

Fixed/Wi-Fi from Mobile Devices (48% CAGR)

Fixed/Wired (16% CAGR)

Mobile (16% CAGR)

17.4%

19.8%

25.7%

19.8%

The trend toward mobility carries over into the realm of fixed networks as well, in that an increasing portion of traffic will originate from portable or mobile devices.

By 2021, wired networks will account for 37 percent of IP traffic, and Wi-Fi and mobile networks will account for 63 percent of IP traffic.

In 2016, wired networks accounted for the majority of IP traffic, at 51 percent;

Wi-Fi accounted for 41 percent; and mobile or cellular networks accounted for 7.5 percent of total

Wi-Fi 6: A Quick Score Sheet

Previous IEEE 802.11 Amendments IEEE 802.11ax Benefits

Objectives Increase the per-link peakthroughput

Increase the average per user throughput in dense environment

Improving user experience

Scenarios Single application for a single client in indoor scenarios

Dense deployment environmentswith a mix of clients/AP and traffic types including outdoor situations

Increased number of stations (users) and APs located close to each other

KPIs/Metrics Peak rate driven•Link throughput•Aggregate throughput

Metrics reflecting user experience• Average per STA throughput• Area Throughput

Up to 4x improvement in the per user throughput

What Does Wi-Fi 6 Bring (VS Wi-Fi 5)?

High Throughput Low LatencyLarge Capacity

• Up to 9.6 Gbps • 4 x higher bandwidth

Low Power Consumption

1024-QAM8x8 MU-MIMO

User 1User 2User 3User 4

Frequency

Time

UL/DL OFDMAUL/DL MU-MIMO

• 1024 access users (per AP)

• 4 x higher concurrent capacity

OFDMASpatial Reuse

• Uplink ordered scheduling, latency reduced to 20 ms

• Average latency lowered by 50%

TWT20MHz-Only

• Target time wakeup (TWT) mechanism

• Terminal power consumption reduced by 30%

Wi-Fi 6: Why It Is Better?Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi 5 Wi-Fi 4

Band 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz 5 GHz 2.4 and 5 GHz

Make use of the large spectrum available in the 6 GHz band

Waveform OFDMA OFDM OFDM Achieve multiplexing gain

Channel Width 20, 40, 80, 160 MHz 20, 40, 80, 160 MHz 20, 40 MHz Same channel width as in Wi-Fi 5

Number of Antennas 8 8 4 Same as in Wi-Fi 5

Advanced Power Save

Target Wake up Time (TWT)

No No Efficient support of devices with power constraints

Aggregate Data Rate 9.6 Gbps 6.9 Gbps 600 Mbps Modest rate increase compared to Wi-Fi 5

User Experience 4x improvement ? ? Focus is on user experience and per user throughput.

20 MHz-only operation

Yes No Yes Allows support of IoT applications and eventual replacement of Wi-Fi 4

Spatial Reuse Yes No No Efficient use of available spectrum

MU MIMO DL MU MIMO and Triggered UL MIMO

DL MU MIMO No Access point schedules users based on their traffic requirements, e.g. buffer size and delay requirements.

Outdoor Improved support No No Improved outdoor performance for open stadiums and hot spots.

QAM 1024 QAM 256 QAM 64 QAM Improved throughput by packing more signals in the same space.

6GHz: The Need for More Spectrum• Recent spectrum needs studies indicate that by 2020 the Wi-Fi industry will require an additional 600-800

MHz of spectrum to support the current growth curve; 1.2-1.6 GHz by 2025

• The U-NII-2b band we expected to open is now off the table

• 160 MHz in the middle of the 5 GHz band is no longer possible

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6GHz: The New Spectrum• Regulators are discussing making the band from 6 Ghz to 7.125 GHz

available for unlicensed operation• More 160 MHz channels will become available• Clear the way to specify wider channels, e.g. 320 MHz channels• 802.11ax project scope was modified to include the 6 GHz band (up to 7.125 GHz).

However, there are no plans to specify 320 MHz channels for 11ax

ApplicationsHigh density areasE-learning4k/8k videoVR/ARTelepresenceCADIoTResearch Medical imagingNext generation apps

Benefits• Improve student & staff experience

• Capex & Opex savings over WiFi 5

• 100% wireless LAN with ubiquitous coverage

• Flexible room usage & configuration

• Enable new digital education delivery

• Help meet sustainability goals

• Deliver innovation

Wi Fi 6 Education Applications & Benefits

Wi-Fi 6 & Huawei

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Huawei Wi-Fi 6 Portfolio

• The X-Gen Wi-Fi Solution, announced in 2017, offers connectivity through Gigabit Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and RFID

• Access point (AP7060DN) running on an 802.11ax Qualcomm chip, offering faster speeds, reduced congestion and lower energy consumption

• Offers speeds of up to 9.6Gbps, up from the current maximum of 1.7Gbps which is offered by products using the 802.11ac Wave 2 standard

• Support 400 simultaneous users, four times the number supported in high-density scenarios by 802.11ac Wave 2

• Anti-interference capabilities, using a scheduling system for different users to avoid collisions in network traffic

• Supports on-premise and cloud-based management modes for devices on the network

3x Higher Rate4x Higher CapacityWi-Fi/IoT ConvergenceCloud Managed

Huawei Promotes the Development of the Wi-Fi 6 Standard and Industry

Osama, Huawei expertChairman of the IEEE

802.11ac/ax Working Group

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Huawei released the first Wi-Fi 6 AP in the industry

Large-scale commercial use of Huawei Wi-Fi 6 APs

Huawei's Wi-Fi 6 AP became the industry's first one verified by Tolly

Built-in AP

Hongkou North Bund, Shanghai

Huawei released the first 10G Wi-Fi prototype in the industry

Huawei takes 6 seats in the 802.11 Working Groups:• Edward: Chairman of the 802.11ay Working Group• Donald Eastlake: Chairman of the 802.11ak Working Group • Yunsong Yang: Vice Chairman of the 802.11aq Working Group • Jiamin Chen: Chairman of the 802.11aj Working Group

10+ customers have selected Huawei Wi-Fi 6

Huawei has submitted 163 new proposals, accounting for 25% of all proposals and ranking No.1

Wi-Fi 6 and the Future

Huawei took the lead in the definition of a new Wi-Fi standard (Wi-Fi 6) recognizing the need for new and improved user experience.

Huawei will continue to lead the efforts for specifying future Wi-Fi standards.

Future enhancements may include optional support for 320 MHz width and 16 antennas (mainly at the access point side).

New band availability is expected to pave the way for more capabilities.

Huawei has the resources and products to positively influence future Wi-Fi directions

Thank youJoin us at our Deep-Dive Experiential session at 3.45pm today in Plenary 3

Visit us at Booth XX