WBA, CableLabs Share Wi-Fi 6E Test Results
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) announced results of a trial conducted on its behalf by CableLabs and Intel on the use of low power indoor Wi-Fi 6E for residential applications. The test found that use of 160-MHz channels on Wi-Fi 6E enabled downlink speeds of 1.7 TCP Gbps and uplink speeds of 1.2 TCP Gbps.
The WBA said the larger channel width and associated increase in Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) transmit power maximized both coverage and speed throughout the test area.
Wi-Fi 6E Test
The test took place in a 3,600 square-foot, two-story home that includes a basement, drywall, wood and other typical building materials. It focused on laptops with Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 wireless cards at various places in the home. A Wi-Fi 6E-enabled access point (AP) from Asus was used.
The WBA says that uplink and downlink tests were conducted comparing throughput on 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands for “wide” channels of 80 MHz and 160 MHz. CableLabs and Intel also compared Wi-Fi 6E to Wi-Fi 6 performance in the 5 GHz band in the presence of overlapping neighboring APs.
The results “clearly demonstrate” the benefits of 6 GHz spectrum over 5 GHz spectrum, WBA said. While Wi-Fi 6 devices perform better than Wi-Fi 5 devices using 5 GHz spectrum, “next level user experiences” become possible when 6 GHz is used, a press release notes.
“This field trial by CableLabs and Intel shows how Wi-Fi 6E and 6 GHz spectrum maximize coverage, capacity, throughput and the user experience in one of the most demanding real-world environments: people’s homes,” Wireless Broadband Alliance CEO Tiago Rodrigues said in a press release. “Between HD and 4K streaming video, multiplayer gaming, dozens of smart home devices and videoconferencing for remote work, today’s home Wi-Fi networks are the foundation for how people live, work and play. This trial highlights that Wi-Fi 6E is more than capable of shouldering that load, especially when paired with 6 GHz spectrum.”