Wi-Fi is about to have a major upgrade after 20 years

Wi-Fi will use the new 6GHz band in addition to the existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

Today, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to open the 6GHz band for unlicensed use. A similar procedure before the FCC allows your routers to broadcast on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. That means more room for routers to broadcast Wi-Fi.

After the new 6GHz band has been officially licensed, manufacturers will be able to create a new generation of devices with faster and more stable connectivity. This is the biggest upgrade of Wi-Fi, after the FCC officially licensed in 1989.

Wi-Fi is about to have a major upgrade after 20 years Picture 1

The 6GHz band will essentially quadruple the space for routers and other devices. At the moment, the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands are becoming increasingly crowded, due to too many devices in use. As a result, devices using the 6GHz band will have more bandwidth and more stable connectivity.

As we all know, the 2.4GHz band is common to a lot of devices, from old cordless phones, cameras, other electronics and even Wi-Fi. The 2.4GHz band has a limited speed of 450Mbps or 600Mbps, but has a wide range and easily travels through solid objects like walls.

Meanwhile, the 5GHz band is used for devices that need more data such as laptops, phones or tablets because it can transfer higher amounts of data and fewer devices use. The 5GHz band can reach 1300Mbps, but is limited in scope and doesn't have the ability to penetrate solid objects as well as 2.4GHz.

It seems that the 5GHz band has also become more cramped, as more and more devices need to use more data and higher connection speeds. Therefore, the 6GHz band will be a very important upgrade for Wi-Fi.

Devices using the 6GHz Wi-Fi band will be officially launched later this year.