WiFi standards advance every few years, and the naming convention hasn’t always made it easy to track what’s actually changed. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently simplified things by introducing numbered generation names, which means the latest standard (802.11ax) is now officially called WiFi 6. Here’s what that means for your business.
A Quick History of WiFi Generations
| Standard | Generation Name | Year | Max Theoretical Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 802.11n | WiFi 4 | 2009 | 600 Mbps |
| 802.11ac | WiFi 5 | 2013 | 3.5 Gbps |
| 802.11ax | WiFi 6 | 2019 | 9.6 Gbps |
Theoretical maximums are rarely achieved in practice. Real-world performance depends on distance, interference, the number of devices, and the capabilities of both the access point and the client device.
WiFi 6: A Better Experience in Busy Environments
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) wasn’t primarily designed to be faster than WiFi 5 in a straight speed test. Its main improvements are about efficiency in environments with many devices.
Key improvements:
- OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access): allows an access point to communicate with multiple devices simultaneously rather than one at a time, reducing latency and improving throughput in dense environments.
- MU-MIMO improvements: WiFi 6 supports up to 8 simultaneous streams (up from 4 in WiFi 5), meaning more devices can be served at the same time.
- TWT (Target Wake Time): lets devices schedule when they communicate with the access point, reducing congestion and improving battery life on mobile devices and IoT hardware.
- BSS Colouring: reduces interference from neighbouring networks by tagging transmissions so devices can better distinguish between their own network and others nearby.
For a small office with a handful of devices, WiFi 5 is still adequate. For a busy open-plan office with 20+ devices, video conferencing, and cloud-heavy workflows, WiFi 6 delivers a noticeably better experience.
What About 6 GHz?
The industry is actively working on extending WiFi 6 into the 6 GHz band, which would open up a large block of clean, uncongested spectrum for WiFi use. This extension is being referred to as WiFi 6E, though hardware and regulatory approval aren’t there yet.
In Canada, regulatory proceedings around the 6 GHz band are ongoing. When approval comes through and compatible hardware becomes available, 6 GHz will be particularly valuable in dense urban environments where 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz congestion is a constant problem. We’ll cover it in detail once it’s a practical option for SMEs.
Is It Worth Upgrading?
| Scenario | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Small office, few devices, WiFi 5 hardware working fine | No urgent need to upgrade |
| Busy open-plan office with 20+ devices, video conferencing | WiFi 6 worth considering |
| New installation from scratch | WiFi 6 is the sensible starting point |
| Replacing end-of-life hardware | WiFi 6 minimum |
The key question isn’t whether the new standard is faster. It usually is. The question is whether your current environment has a problem that the new standard solves. In a low-density environment with few competing networks, WiFi 5 hardware may be entirely adequate for years to come.
What to Look for When Buying
- WiFi 6 certification for any new access point purchase
- PoE+ support: most business access points are powered over Ethernet; confirm the switch ports support the required PoE standard
- Multi-SSID and VLAN support: essential for separating staff, guest, and IoT networks
- Centralised management: particularly useful if you have multiple access points (UniFi and Meraki are common choices for SMEs)
Client Device Support
WiFi 6 access points are backwards compatible with older devices. Buying a WiFi 6 access point today doesn’t mean your existing devices are left behind; they’ll connect on WiFi 5 or WiFi 4 as they always have, while newer devices take advantage of the improved standard.
The first wave of WiFi 6 client devices (laptops and phones) began appearing in 2019. As your hardware refreshes over the next few years, more of your devices will be able to take full advantage of a WiFi 6 infrastructure.