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The vast majority of networking professionals are keen to add newly-certified Wi-Fi 6 capabilities to their infrastructure, with two-thirds looking to embrace the upgrades in the next 12 months, a new survey has found.
Research conducted by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) revealed 90 per cent of respondents, who include telecommunications service providers, technology vendors and enterprises, said they are making plans to deploy this technology. Meanwhile, 66 per cent said they expect to do this before the end of 2020.
Tiago Rodrigues, chief executive of the WBA, said this will see 2020 become a "breakout year" for Wi-Fi 6, adding that the new upgrade is "clearly energising" the organisation's members.
He stated: "This is easily the most dynamic time we have seen for anyone involved with Wi-Fi - from service providers to technology vendors - as we address massive opportunities from Wi-Fi 6 and unlicensed spectrum to 5G convergence, Wi-Fi roaming and Internet of Things (IoT)."
The newest upgrade to the wireless connectivity standard became officially available last month with the introduction of the Wi-Fi Certified 6 programme from the Wi-Fi Alliance, which will enable companies to identify products that meet the new standards.
Wi-Fi 6 offers a range of improvements over the existing 802.11ac standard - now referred to as Wi-Fi 5 - including higher speeds, reduced power consumption for connected devices and significantly higher capacity.
Mr Rodrigues continued: "When such a large proportion of service providers and technology vendors have the technology in their short-term roadmap, it means that Wi-Fi 6 will very quickly become part of the landscape for service providers, enterprises and consumers."
The WBA's survey also found IoT and vertical industry applications are set to become the main focuses for Wi-Fi deployments in the next three years. Some 45 per cent of respondents placed this in their top three expected revenue sources.
Meanwhile, almost four-fifths of professionals (78 per cent) said the 6 GHz extension is 'very important' or 'important' to their current or future network strategy, while 40 per cent of those surveyed said they would include Next Generation Hotspot roaming technology in their plans before the end of 2020.
