Page 8 - EngineerIT December 2021

ICT

Unlocking the future of connectivity

with Wi-Fi 6E

By Mandy Duncan, Aruba Country Manager, South Africa

he pandemic has caused rapid acceleration of digital transformation initiatives across users. While not the only solution – the
sectors, and with it a host of new connectivity challenges that have yet to be solved. rollout of 5G is a noteworthy answer to
TAs of January 2021, within South Africa, internet penetration stood at 64.0%, slightly connectivity issues – Wi-Fi 6E gives an
higher than the 59.5% global population average. organisation far greater control over how
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shift towards hybrid working has pushed the their data is treated, and it is also cheaper,
issue of connectivity to the forefront of the business agenda. Increased video conferencing, a to boot. Adoption of Wi-Fi 6E and the less
greater reliance on cloud operations, and the rising threat of cybersecurity attacks, combine congested airways, broader channels, and
to represent a maelstrom of potential network issues. The answer to these challenges may increased connectivity that comes with it,
well be Wi-Fi 6E. will not only enable greater success within
existing parameters, but also catalyse
What is Wi-Fi 6E? future innovations.
The ‘E’ in Wi-Fi 6E stands for ‘Extended’. The Wi-Fi in use today operates within two bands:
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. But as Wi-Fi has become more pervasive, so too have the limitations of Gaining momentum
these spectra. Recent studies have illustrated that pinch points mainly exist in city centres With digital transformation
and areas where housing is particularly dense. The 2.4 GHz band has been shown to be indiscriminately gripping all industries, the
highly congested and even the 5GHz band has started to struggle due to the large number move to the cloud has accelerated. The
of Wi-Fi radios that are operating within a smaller space on limited channels. This is where cloud computing market in South Africa is
Wi-Fi 6E comes in. expected to grow to R25.5 billion in 2024,
Wi-Fi 6E uses a third band – 6 GHz – and extends the same Wi-Fi 6 capabilities into it, due to a sharp increase in demand for
enabling far greater efficiency, increased throughput and tighter security. The extension public cloud infrastructure because of the
into this band essentially doubles the amount of frequency that is available to devices and pandemic.

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