The latest WiFi standard has been around for some time now, so what do you need to know in order to decide if it’s time to upgrade?
Greater density of devices
802.11ac supports Muti-User MIMO (or MU-MIMO). This means that multiple devices can receive data from the same access point at the same time. This is important because prior to Wave 2, WiFi access points could only communicate with one device at a time. Increasing that to four can effectively quadruple the capacity when it comes to downloads.
Faster speeds
Another big change to WiFi with 802.11ac Wave 2 is the use of 160Mhz wide channels. This represents double the previous 80Mhz limit and means that 1Gbps WiFi may actually be a reality in your business. it’s important to note that in Europe, using 160Mhz channels takes up the entire none-DFS spectrum and as such shouldn’t be used in areas covered by more than one access point to avoid interference.
Why this matters
Increasing speed and density are two of the key drivers behind new WiFi deployments. Who doesn’t want faster / more? When configured correctly for the environment, 802.11ac Wave 2 can significantly increase performance for users. In a conference / event environments, the additional density which the technology supports is important. For the home or small business (when the speed of the internet keeps up), the use of ac Wave 2 means WiFi catching up with the speed of wired connections.
802.11ac Wave 2 is supported by virtually all devices which state support for 802.11ac. The standard has been out for some time and is starting to see wide adoption.
Contact Westcom Networks for more information on how you can take advantage of 802.11ac in your business.
