Wi-Fi 6 — An Alternative to 5G for the Internet of Things

Due to the cacophonous marketing campaign from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for its 5G cellular technology, the upcoming Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) has received much less market attention despite the fact that it can be a viable substitute for 5G in certain use cases. We focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) because it is an important addressable market for both technologies.

The info-communications industry has focused its attention on 5G and how the technology can play a pivotal role in the digital transformation of many industries. It is fair to say that the 5G market hype has reached its apogee. However, it is highly unlikely for 5G to pull off a “winner takes all” outcome because Wi-Fi 6 is not without its own merits. Wi-Fi 6 incorporates a slew of new technologies and boasts superior specifications compared to those of its predecessors (for example, higher peak data rates, better average throughput, lower latency, and longer battery life for devices).

In any IoT deployment decisions, the context associated with the use case has to be taken into consideration. For example, not all industrial IoT or smart factory initiatives will require the advanced capabilities provided by 5G (which are suited for mission-critical robotics or automated, high-precision manufacturing). In fact, UK-based Mettis Aerospace is trialling Wi-Fi 6 in conjunction with efforts to modernise its manufacturing environment.

According to the Computer Business Review, Cisco has already conducted field trials of its Wi-Fi 6 stack with BMW, NASA and Samsung (https://www.cbronline.com/news/wi-fi-6-cisco). More trials by other companies can be expected through 2019 and beyond. Smart warehouses, digital hospitals, smart buildings, and smart homes are further examples of IoT use cases where Wi-Fi 6 can be utilised.

It is very important for enterprises to select their IoT access technologies carefully. They will need to rigorously evaluate the following aspects (at the minimum):

• Use case requirements (these encompass factors such as security, data speed, reliability, and coverage area),
• Total cost of ownership,
• Supporting partner ecosystem for the technology,
• Extent/availability of in-house expertise/resources, and
• Project implementation time frame, and general availability of devices and networking hardware (a view of the comparative timelines for Wi-Fi 6 and 5G can be found at https://www.cbronline.com/news/wi-fi-6-cisco).

Service providers should not place all their eggs in one basket. It is still very early days — it is by no means guaranteed that 5G will dominate the IoT space in the next decade. There are uncertainties associated with the cost of 5G wireless modules, 5G data connectivity, and 5G spectrum licences. These will have implications for the viability of 5G-related IoT business cases. As such, it is vital for service providers to develop strategic options. They should also strive to comprehend their enterprise customers' challenges and business objectives before proposing technology solutions to the enterprises.

There are a few plausible IoT market scenarios for Wi-Fi 6 and 5G. In my opinion, Wi-Fi 6 and 5G will coexist and be complementary in many cases. Proponents of 5G should not assume that the market is theirs for the taking. Wi-Fi 6 will stand to benefit if there are slippages in the timeline for upcoming 5G Releases. Of course, a lot still hinges on the successful demonstration of the viability of Wi-Fi 6 in upcoming trials.

Appendix — Key Features for Wi-Fi 6

· “Target wake time” (TWT) to improve battery life (particularly beneficial for IoT use cases). This power-saving feature allows users to decide when and how often the devices wake up to transmit or receive data.

· Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) to support more simultaneous users in the same channel.

· Use of multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) in both uplink and downlink.

· 1024 quadrature amplitude modulation (1024-QAM) to increase throughput.