A well-informed user will rightly pose two key questions:

1. Why would a speed of 9 Gbps be relevant when the Ethernet port of the access point only supports 1 Gbps, and the internet connection struggles to reach 150 Mbps?
2. WiFi 5 (802.11ac) access points already made significant promises, but it seems that the issues are primarily due to end devices (smartphones and laptops) limiting the quality of the connection. So why invest in upgrading access points when most of the problems are caused by clients (poorly developed drivers, low-quality built-in antennas, etc.)?

These questions are entirely justified, and the argument of "speed" in marketing actually offers little real value. While easy to understand for both the general public and sales teams, the WiFi 6 standard nonetheless represents a significant technological advancement and proves to be indispensable for the professional world.

Why It's So Important?

Security Above All

Many companies, especially small businesses, currently have a WiFi network of variable quality that still meets their basic needs. Users simply adapt to the circumstances; if there are WiFi issues, they look for an available Ethernet connection or change location.

On the other hand, no company, regardless of size, should tolerate a serious security vulnerability. This is exactly the problem that the WiFi 5 standard and previous versions face: the associated security algorithms, known as WPA and WPA2, are affected by various design flaws, allowing hackers to obtain the encryption keys used to encrypt communication on the WiFi network. Regarding WPA2, the most widely used security standard, the most infamous vulnerability is known as KRACK⁽¹⁾, and since it is a design issue, it can be mitigated but not fully resolved⁽²⁾! It is not easy to exploit, but there are semi-automated tools⁽³⁾ available that significantly facilitate the work of criminals. Less experienced hackers target small businesses with shared passwords ("preshared key"), retrieve these keys, and can connect to the affected company's network or intercept communication at will.

Professional hackers target large companies using WiFi authentication "per user" (WPA2 Enterprise) and can, for example:

• Intercept communication from a specific user
• Launch a denial-of-service attack on the WiFi network

WiFi 6 introduces the new security standard called WPA3⁽⁴⁾, which corrects the design flaws of previous versions. For small businesses, which may struggle to implement measures to mitigate the impact of KRACK (patches for smartphones, tablets, and laptops, transitioning to WPA2 Enterprise, etc.), upgrading to WiFi 6 allows them to return to a high level of security without increasing the complexity of network management. For large companies, which are targets of professional hackers with significant operational resources, WPA3 should be considered an essential component.

Next, Performance

The effectiveness of a WiFi access point goes beyond just the theoretical speed it promises. More importantly, the following factors come into play:

1. Interaction with other access points: Especially in business environments, it is crucial that an access point can effectively communicate with other points and efficiently distribute client connections across available access points.
2. Multitasking for multiple clients: An access point must be able to serve multiple clients simultaneously and ensure a high-quality network experience for each of them. In businesses, laptops, smartphones, tablets, printers, projectors, and smart TVs are all potential WiFi users.
3. Management of radio interferences: The growth of WiFi networks, both in households and businesses, brings interference issues. Every entity now implements its own WiFi, leading to radio interferences.

While the first point is mainly addressed by manufacturers' own technologies, the WiFi 6 standard provides significant improvements for points 2 and 3. We will use some technical terms that you can find in the manuals of WiFi products, but we will explain them in an understandable way.

Multitasking with MU-MIMO and OFDMA: Before 2017, a WiFi access point could only communicate with one client at a time. This resulted in wait times for each client, especially as the number of users increased. WiFi 5 introduced MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output)⁽⁵⁾ to communicate with multiple clients simultaneously, albeit only from clients to the access point. WiFi 6 mandates this technology and adds OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)⁽⁶⁾, allowing communication with multiple clients in both directions. This significantly improves performance in busy environments.

Management of radio interferences with "BSS coloring"⁽⁷⁾: WiFi access points transmit and receive information on specific radio channels. Although we try to assign a different channel to each access point to prevent interferences, this is challenging in practice. WiFi 6 introduces "BSS coloring," allowing clients to distinguish which communication comes from their access point. This minimizes interference issues and improves overall network performance.

In short, achieving a WiFi network without any interference is nearly impossible, but WiFi 6 offers crucial improvements. These are essential given the growth of WiFi devices and the increasing use of interactive applications that rely on a reliable network.

Finally, Simplification of Deployments

Setting up a WiFi network is significantly more complicated than laying a wired network. One must consider the geography of the location, the nature of the walls, and existing radio interference (radars, neighbors' WiFi networks, etc.). For specific cases, such as reaching a hallway or a meeting room, doubts sometimes arise about using omnidirectional access points (antennas are integrated, and the signal spreads evenly in all directions) versus access points with external antennas that can concentrate the signal in a specific area. Often, purchase contracts for WiFi equipment are signed before a coverage study is conducted, and therefore, one must make the best of the available hardware. WiFi 6 reduces these limitations somewhat thanks to a mechanism called "beamforming."

"Beamforming"⁽⁸⁾ allows an omnidirectional access point to deform its radio coverage area to concentrate signal strength on areas where WiFi users are located. Behind this "magical" technology are complex mathematical algorithms that require significant computational power. This partly explains why "beamforming," which was already present in WiFi 4 and 5 access points, did not seem to significantly improve network coverage and performance. With the advent of WiFi 6, this mechanism has been standardized (all equipment is interchangeable), and the processors in access points provide the necessary computational power. This also explains the significantly higher price of WiFi 6 access points.

In short, omnidirectional WiFi 6 access points are more flexible in use. A coverage study remains essential for large spaces, but the use of unidirectional antennas is reserved for very specific cases.

In summary

More powerful, more secure, but also more expensive - is WiFi 6 truly worth its price? Especially since, to truly benefit from this technology, clients (smartphones, laptops) must also meet the WiFi 6 standard.

The answer is "yes," at least for medium-sized and large companies. Firstly, considering the short lifecycle of client devices (the average lifespan of a smartphone is 2.5 years, 5 years for a laptop), we can expect that companies will already have at least a third of WiFi 6-compatible clients within one to two years. This should contribute to improving the quality of the WiFi service.

Furthermore, companies are currently leaning towards wireless connectivity and reducing the use of wiring. The density of connected devices is significantly increasing, along with the use of interactive applications (Teams, Zoom, softphones, etc.). The multi-client management capabilities of WiFi 6 will, therefore, become indispensable rapidly, unless one is willing to regularly accept user complaints about network quality.

Finally, and this is particularly relevant for large enterprises, security issues related to the design flaws of the WiFi 5 standard should prompt an active migration policy to WiFi 6 (the alternative option is limiting the use of WiFi to non-critical applications).

WiFi is no longer a supplement to the wired network; it has become the standard connection method for the majority of users (both individuals and businesses). It is time to give it the same attention as the wired infrastructure.

^{(1)    https://www.krackattacks.com/
(2)    https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/05/krack_updated_wpa2_attack/
(3)    https://www.aircrack-ng.org/
(4)    https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/WPA3
(5)    https://www.networkworld.com/article/3250268/what-is-mu-mimo-and-why-is…
(6)    https://www.networkworld.com/article/3332018/wi-fi-6-with-ofdma-opens-a…
(7)    https://www.networkworld.com/article/3445039/beamforming-explained-how-…
(8)    https://www.wifi-professionals.com/2019/07/bss-colouring-or-spatial-reu…}