Although Wi-Fi 6 has begun to make some headway, the currently evolving Wi-Fi 6E standard seems likely to offer even faster speeds down the road.
The differences between the Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E protocols are as follows:
Wi-Fi 6e is a revolution for wireless networking. The best way I know how to explain it is to imagine if all Tesla cars had a road just for themselves. How much less traffic would you see on your commute? That is what Wi-Fi6e creates.
It operates on the 6 GHz band so that no legacy devices can access it. Wi-Fi 6e devices will be able to work on Wi-Fi 6 and other previous standards, but no devices without 6e support will be able to access the superhighway. From a capacity standpoint, it’ll have access to 59 non-overlapping channels, so places like sports arenas, concert halls, and other high-density environments will provide much more capacity with less interference.
In order to make this happen, additional segments of the radio spectrum are needed to ensure that Wi-Fi 6E doesn’t end up congested while legacy channels become the norm. As such, the FCC offered free use of the 6GHz band. Responding to this, AT&T filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the decision. It claimed that use of the 6GHz spectrum would interfere with the microwave it uses to send data between cellular towers.
According to The Verge, the FCC on Tuesday won the court battle regarding the 6GHz spectrum:
A ruling (pdf) on Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has backed up an April 2020 decision by the FCC to open up 1,200MHz of spectrum in the 6GHz band for unlicensed use. Unlicensed means anyone can use it, as long as they do so responsibly, covering uses like your future Wi-Fi 6E home network […]
While 6GHz Wi-Fi has the same theoretical top speed as 5GHz Wi-Fi, the extra space means that instead of getting so much interference from other devices and nearby networks, you’ll have a faster, more consistent connection. Last year a representative for the Wi-Fi Alliance told The Verge that this should enable 1–2 Gbps connections over Wi-Fi, similar to what you see now with mmWave 5G.
The court accepted the FCC’s argument that the low power of Wi-Fi 6E routers would not interfere with the much higher-power transmissions involved in sending cellular data up to 50 miles.
It’s been reported that Apple plans to offer Wi-Fi 6E support in the upcoming iPhone 14, although this plan could be hampered by component shortages. The iPhone 13 currently offers Wi-Fi 6 support, but not Wi-Fi 6E support to date.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.