Monday, October 7, 2019

Wi-Fi: Definition, Meaning and Role in Internet of Things

What does Wi-Fi mean? Established in 1999, Wi-Fi is the leading short-range communications network, with more than 14 billion active devices in the world. The Wi-Fi standard 6 was launched in 2019.

Definition of the word Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi, or Wi-Fi, is a local network launched in 1999 that uses radio waves to wirelessly interconnect multiple computer devices to facilitate data transmission. The term is an abbreviation for Wireless Fidelity that can be translated into French as "wireless fidelity". Governed by the IEEE 802.11 standards, Wi-Fi is mainly used to connect devices (laptops, PDAs, etc.) to broadband links. It is found particularly in the field of the Internet with nomadic devices connected to the Wi-Fi network rather than an ethernet cable.

Beyond its advantages, Wi-Fi is often criticized. Many highlight the privacy issues associated with using a Wi-Fi network. Note that in other countries in Europe or around the world, Wi-Fi is also known by the generic term WLAN for Wireless Local Area Network.

Feature of Wi-Fi 6

Wi-Fi 6, based on the IEEE 802.11 ax standard, is the next generation wireless connection, following the 802.11ac standard launched in 2014. It was launched in September 2019 to address latency or interference when a large number of objects are connected. Its main advantage is to offer a high speed of 10 Gbit per second and a latency of less than 1 millisecond. Data transfer speeds will be four times higher than the previous standard. "We are able to offer more bandwidth, with 160 MHz channels, by channeling the waves into space," explains Guillaume de Saint-Marc, director of innovation at Cisco in France. The Wi-Fi 6 will bring better connectivity in the busy places (station, airport, stadium), and improve the cases of virtual reality.

These are not the only assets of Wi-Fi 6. This standard also provides extended coverage of 200 meters and an increased capacity of 12 Mbit / s per m². Wi-Fi also meets the requirements of 5Gand offers enhanced security that relies on the WPA3 protocol. "We worked on the robustness of encryption and a stronger authentication process," explains Guillaume de Saint-Marc. Cisco began experimenting with customers, including the United States Golf Association, for which 400 access points were connected via Wi-Fi 6 as part of the US Open Golf Tournament. "Our corporate customers are asking if they need to get started right away, but deployments will take time, but for new buildings, it's critical to plan for them now," said Diego Vega, head of engineering at WiredScore.

"Wi-Fi 6 is not just an evolution of Wi-Fi 5, it's a new concept, and that's why we've changed the name," says Kevin Robinson, marketing manager for the company. Wi-Fi Alliance. With Wi-Fi 6, Cisco aims for a roaming connection: "We want to make it possible to switch from one Wi-Fi network to another automatically," says Guillaume de Saint-Marc. Concretely, partner companies will be able to share their connections with their employees by automatically recognizing their devices, without them needing to enter the access code.



Role of Wi-Fi 6 for IoT

Wi-Fi 6 is designed to increase network performance for a larger number of objects. But above all, this new generation reduces the consumption of batteries of connected objects. "The goal of the IoT is to allow companies to forget the sensors, but Wi-Fi 5 was constraining by consuming too much energy," says Diego Vega, WiredScore. The sensor now only becomes active when it needs to receive a data transmission and then resumes sleep. "This action is possible thanks to the Target Wake Time (TWT) function," explains Kevin Robinson of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Another specificity of Wi-Fi 6 is to allocate resources according to the needs of the devices with OFDMA technology, thus increasing the

The Wi-Fi Alliance expects a total of 50 billion IoT connections in 2020 and is moving towards the mass adoption of the new standard 6. "Wi-Fi is the least expensive communication technology in IoT it allows to pool different services, so it is an interesting choice from an economic point of view, "recognizes Diego Vega, WiredScore.

The LoRa Alliance is interested in the complementarity of its IoT network with Wi-Fi and collaborates with the Wireless Broadband Alliance on joint use cases in the smart building, smart home, and connected vehicle sectors.

The Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance was created in 2000 to provide and certify Wi-Fi connectivity solutions. It brings together more than 800 members worldwide, including the French Orange, Somfy, Netatmo, and Devialet. The Alliance has certified more than 20 billion Wi-Fi devices, of which 14 billion are active. "There are almost two Wi-Fi devices per person, it shows the success of the technology," said Kevin Robinson of the Alliance, pointing out that Wi-Fi is everywhere, including on the ISS where it connects the outfit and equipment of astronauts to the station when they intervene in space. "There are 4 billion products added each year," says Guillaume de Saint-Marc. According to the Alliance, the economic value produced by Wi-Fi On September 16, 2019, the Wi-Fi Alliance launched the new standard certification program, which ensures interoperability between Wi-Fi products from different manufacturers. According to IDC, 1.6 billion Wi-Fi 6 devices are expected to ship by 2020.

Where is Wi-Fi?

Between Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi network, many are those who question the gender of the pronoun. According to Larousse, Wi-Fi a masculine and invariable name, which refers to the wireless network. In general, computer terms are masculine. Phil Belanger, a founding member of the Wi-Fi Alliance, explained that this confusion would come from the proximity of the word with hifi, which is used in the feminine and is often associated with "the stereo".