Is WiFi-6 is preferable than 5G ?

Demystifying wireless technology

The latest generations of wireless networking are poised to have a profound impact on businesses across sectors.

What is WiFi 6 ?
The sixth generation of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, provides more speed, lower latency, and increased device density. IEEE focuses the WiFi on indoor scenarios.

What is 5G ?
The fifth generation of wireless, 5G, is the latest cellular technology, engineered to increase the speed and capacity of wireless networks. At the same time 3GPP focuses the 5G on outdoor scenarios.

Modulation Technology

Modulation is a process of changing the characteristics of the wave to be transmitted by superimposing the message signal on the high frequency signal.

Both WiFi-6 and 5G comes from the same background of modulation technique.

During the development phase for 5G technology a variety of waveforms and modulation techniques were postulated, but for 5G New Radio, 5G NR, cyclic prefix OFDM, CP-OFDM was chosen as the main candidate with DFT-s-OFDM, discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing being used in some areas. 5G is with the max of 256QAM.

OFDMA significantly reduces contention and preamble overhead, especially for short packets prevalent in many networks. OFDMA modifies a Wi-Fi characteristic — to date frames have been transmitted consecutively. A client or AP contends and, when idle, seizes the medium to transmit a frame; when it is finished, another device can seize the medium. This is a very flexible and decentralized way of controlling access; it easily accommodates burst traffic, diverse device populations, and changing traffic patterns. WiFi is with the max of 1024QAM.

The major benefit of QAM modulation variants is efficient usage of bandwidth. This is due to the fact that QAM represent more number of bits per carrier. For example, 16QAM maps 4 bits per carrier, 64QAM maps 6 bits per carrier, 256QAM maps 8 bits per carrier and so on.

The winner is WiFi-6 with respect to QAM.

MIMO

MIMO is the acronym for Multiple In, Multiple Out. This means that the radio is split up in multiple radio chains that can all transmit and receive data individually and simultaneously.

More data can, therefore, be sent or received simultaneously or the same data can be sent or received several times for a reliable signal.

A 3x3 system as described above is, therefore, a system where 3 antennas and, by analogue, radio chains are available to transmit and/or receive data.

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) leverages the multi-user version of OFDMA and MU-MIMO for better efficiency of uplink and down link transmissions. OFDMA allows the transmission of big chunks of data over a single noisy channel. This technique works by splitting a single signal into multiple smaller signals that are transmitted. The combination of OFDMA and MU-MIMO allows Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) to achieve increased capacity, improved coverage and performance in ultra-high-density environments. WiFi 6 max supports 8T8R/12T12R — 8 streams.

5G utilizes Massive MIMO — which is an extension of MIMO — expands beyond the legacy systems by adding a much higher number of antennas on the base station. The “massive” number of antennas helps focus energy, which brings drastic improvements in throughput and efficiency. Along with the increased number of antennas, both the network and mobile devices implement more complex designs to coordinate MIMO operations. 5G max supports in outdoor 64T64R -16 streams and indoor 4T4R -4 streams.

The winner is 5G with respect to MIMO.

Frequency and Bandwidth

Bandwidth and frequency both are the measuring terms of networking. The basic difference between bandwidth and frequency is that bandwidth measures the amount of data transferred per second whereas the frequency measure the number of oscillation of the data signal per second.

WiFi ranges on ranges for use in Wi-Fi communications: 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz and 60 GHz bands of unlicensed frequency bands. WiFi 6 ranges 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz (WiFi 6e)It is free of charge and no limitation on usage. The channel B/W of WiFi 6 is 160Mhz in outdoor and indoor as 80Mhz.

5G operates to ensure wide service, 5G networks operate on up to three frequency bands, low, medium, and high. Low-band 5G uses a similar frequency range as current 4G cellphones, 600–700 MHz, giving download speeds as 30–250 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Mid-band 5G uses microwaves of 2.5–3.7 GHz, currently allowing speeds of 100–900 Mbit/s.

High-band 5G currently uses frequencies of 25–39 GHz, near the bottom of the millimeter wave band, although higher frequencies may be used in the future. It often achieves download speeds of a gigabit per second (Gbit/s), comparable to cable internet. The channel B/W of 5G is 100Mhz.

It’s a win-win situation for both 5G and WiFi6 with respect to Frequency and B/W.

Latency and Mobility

Latency is the delay between the time the packet is sent out from the one client and the time that same packet is received by the another client at the far end.

Most often, what is actually measured is the round-trip time, which is generally about two times the one-way latency.

In WiFi 6 an average of 20ms and 10ms if it is with priority scheduling algorithm. It is with 50ms on roaming, Terminals initiate roaming. Key services require device pipe energy.

The specifications of 5G NR in Standalone operation are due for completion in June 2018, which will provide a complete set of specifications for the 5G Core Network that goes beyond Non-Standalone. The ‘full’ 5G System includes:

• eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband) — 4ms
• URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications) — 0.5ms
• mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications) — 10ms on roaming

The winner is 5G with respect to Latency and Mobility.

Interference

The definition of interference is the act of or something that obstructs or hinders. An example of an interference is a detour on the road.

Though the WiFi spectrum is unlicensed, resulting with too many interferences comes into picture.

The usual source for Wi-Fi interference is something that causes radio frequency interference. The reasons can be different:

• The way wireless router is positioned
• Physical obstacles, like walls and floors
• Any other wireless appliances (baby monitors, garage door openers, etc.)
• Kitchen appliances, such as microwave or fridge
• Other Wi-Fi networks in the same space.

But 5G spectrum is licensed only you’re allowed to do transfer and receive. So, resulting with zero interference.

The winner is 5G with respect to Interference.

Deployment Cost

When comparing the cost of deployment or upgrade from older tech. Such as 4G to 5G and WiFi-5 to WiFi-6.

The approximate cost of one 11ax router cheapest from $86 to $450 for high-end.

Deploying 5G Will Cost at Least $130 Billion in Fiber, Study Says.

The winner is WiFi with respect to cost.

Conclusion.

Both the Wi-Fi 6 and 5G each have their respective most applicable scenarios where neither can replace the other. Therefore, selecting the most appropriate technology according to the scenario requirements helps enterprises to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and accelerate their digital transformation.

Picture courtesy :- Huawei