Glossary · Industrial wireless and positioning
Wi-Fi 6
Also known as: IEEE 802.11ax, 802.11ax
German: Wi-Fi 6
In wireless communication, Wi-Fi 6 is the Wi-Fi Alliance name for WLAN devices based on IEEE 802.11ax, operating in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. It introduces OFDMA, uplink and downlink multi-user MIMO and target wake time, which improve efficiency with many devices and reduce power consumption.
- Industrial wireless
- Standards
In one sentence
Wi-Fi 6 is the Wi-Fi Alliance name for IEEE 802.11ax WLAN, with OFDMA and target wake time for dense networks.
Example
A logistics center replaces its WLAN with Wi-Fi 6 access points so that hundreds of handheld scanners and AGVs share the network with fewer delays.
How it applies
- Engineering: OFDMA lets an access point serve several clients in one transmission, which helps with many small packets, as typical for industrial devices. Target wake time extends battery life of sensors.
- Limitations: Wi-Fi 6 improves efficiency, but it still operates in license-free bands shared with other users. It doesn't guarantee deterministic latency; real-time applications need careful planning and testing.
- Security: Wi-Fi 6 certification requires WPA3, which improves authentication and encryption compared with WPA2.
- Documentation: The documentation team states the supported IEEE standard and bands, the security modes, roaming behavior and the radio approvals per market.
Wi-Fi 6 vs. 5G
Wi-Fi 6 uses license-free spectrum and is typically operated by the site itself. 5G (fifth-generation mobile network) uses licensed or locally assigned spectrum with centrally scheduled access. Many plants use both for different applications.