Wi-Fi 6 – Deep Dive
In Wi-Fi 6 - The Revolutionizer of the wireless technology series, we have covered the evolution of Wi-Fi technology, emphasizing the Wi-Fi 6 generation, Wi-Fi modulation techniques, modulation types, and Wi-Fi architecture. This blog part will expand our scope to cover the Wi-Fi 6 air interface (emphasizing the frequency arrangement), physical and MAC layer functionalities of different Wi-Fi generations, applications of Wi-Fi, and IP aspects of Wi-Fi 6.
Wi-Fi 6 Air Interface
Air interface refers to the specification of the radio transmission between the transmitter and the receiver. Air interface typically defines frequency arrangement (i.e., center frequencies, the bandwidth of the radio channels, etc.), modulation techniques/ multiple access scheme, and subcarrier modulation method. In this blog part, we will discuss the frequency arrangement of Wi-Fi 6. At the same time, the reader may refer to Wi-Fi 6 - The Revolutionizer of the Wireless Technology series for the details of modulation techniques/ multiple access schemes and subcarrier modulation methods.
As mentioned in the Wi-Fi 6 - The Revolutionizer of the Wireless Technology series, the operating frequency for Wi-Fi 6 is 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Their frequency channels are shown below.
2.4 GHz band: In the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, the frequencies range from 2.4 GHz to 2.4835 GHz, as illustrated in the figure below. The 2.4 GHz band is divided into 14 fixed-frequency channels (channel number 1-14). Each track is 20 MHz wide, and the gap between adjacent channels is 5 MHz (except 12 MHz spacing between the last two channels). Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz band is also used by 802.11b/g/n. Since there are many overlaps among channels, only three channels can be active at any one time—however, several groups of non-overlapping channels, i.e., channels 1,6,11 channels 2,7,12, and channels 3,8,13. Since channel 12 and 13 are not valid, channel 1,6,11 is generally chosen in North America. In North America, channels 12 and 13 are not legal, and channel 14 is beyond the 2.4 GHz band, which is not used except in Japan.
5 GHz band: Wi-Fi 5 GHz band is divided into Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-1 (UNII-1), UNII-2, UNII-2 Extended, and UNII-3, as illustrated in the figure below. Most Wi-Fi supports only UNII-1 and UNII-3 channels for indoor use. To use UNII-2 and UNII-2 extended, device radio must support Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) and Transmit Power Control (TPC) to avoid radar interference where UNII-2 channel is suitable for indoor use whereas UNII-2 is suitable for extended indoor/outdoor use. In the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, there are 24 non-overlapping channels. Therefore, the fear of interference is more petite. Each track is 20 MHz wide.
Wi-Fi Physical Layer and MAC Layer Functionalities
A quick overview of Wi-Fi Physical Layer and MAC Layer Functionalities is given in the figure below.
The list of abbreviations used in the above figure are depicted below:
List of abbreviations for Wi-Fi physical layer and MAC layer functionalities
Potential Wi-Fi Applications
Wi-Fi has applications in various sectors such as manufacturing, retail, energy, education, healthcare, etc., as shown in the figure below.
These applications of Wi-Fi typically include the following:
Consumer electronics devices: mobile phones, ultra-HD televisions,
Automotive segment
Browsing Internet
Video conference
IoT convergence
Market Segmentation of Wi-Fi 6
The global market for Wi-Fi 6 chipsets is expected to grow from $3.4 billion in 2021 to $9.1 billion by 2026, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.7% for 2021-2026.
IP Landscape of Wi-Fi 6
Year-wise Patent Analysis (Number of Patents vs. Year)
The figure below shows the number of patents mentioning Wi-Fi 6 technology filed annually over a decade (i.e., each year from 2013-2021). A dip is observed in the filing of the Wi-Fi 6 technology patents in 2017 and 2018.
Wi-Fi 6 technology patents filing trend over a decade
(Source - Lumenci)
Disclaimer: "Counts for 2020, 2021 might not be accurate due to unpublished applications."
Key Market Players (Top Assignee)
The figure below shows that Qualcomm (1634), Huawei (1457), Intel (1413) are the top three assignees in terms of filing patents that mention Wi-Fi 6 technology. Intel has the most significant number (629) of granted Wi-Fi 6 technology patents.
Top 10 Patent Assignees with number of patents for Wi-Fi 6 Technology
(Source - Lumenci)
Jurisdiction Based Division of Wi-Fi 6 Patents (Number of Patents vs. Countries)
The figure below shows, US (4134), China (1907), and Europe (816) are the top three jurisdictions where significant players in the Wi-Fi 6 technology have applied for patent protection.
Geographical distribution of patents for Wi-Fi 6 technology
(Source - Lumenci)
*Patents directly filed in EP office
**We have included alive PCT applications (last 31 months till Sep 2021)
Conclusion
Wi-Fi 6 generation has revolutionized the wireless industry. Wi-Fi 6 not only delivers higher adequate speeds but will enable new business models and use cases, including IoT convergence, real-time applications such as enterprise-grade 4K / 8K video, or augmented or virtual reality. The future of Wi-Fi is bright, currently, there is an installed base of over 13 billion Wi-Fi devices, and the number is expected to grow, with more than 4.5 billion Wi-Fi devices predicted to ship annually in 2024. Stay tuned for Revolutionizing from Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 6E (we will compare Wi-Fi 6 with 5G network and extended version of Wi-Fi 6 (i.e., Wi-Fi 6E)).
*Disclaimer: This report is based on information that is publicly available and is considered to be reliable. However, Lumenci cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or reliability of this data.
*Disclaimer: This report is based on information that is publicly available and is considered to be reliable. However, Lumenci cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or reliability of this data.
Author
Satyam Kumar
Associate at Lumenci
Satyam Kumar Rao Associate at Lumenci. Satyam is an Associate at Lumenci with experience in Video codec, Networking and Telecommunication. He holds a B.Tech degree in Electrical Engineering from NIT Kurukshetra. He is interested researching new advancements in technology. He enjoys drawing, painting and listing to music in his spare time.