Wi-Fi 6E is the next biggest revolution in Wi-Fi and is set to dramatically alter our experience with wireless networks. Aruba, a Hewlett-Packard Enterprise company, and leading provider of next-generation network access solutions, is at the forefront of this.

Internet and Wi-Fi usage surged by 80 percent over the last 12 months and Deloitte’s Advanced Wireless Survey 2021 revealed 84 percent of respondents believe advanced wireless networking will transform Australian companies within 12 months.

Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, took the world by storm in 2020 offering increased wireless connectivity, performance and bandwidth at higher speed, flexibility and scalability. Today, Australia is preparing to roll out the next ground-breaking enhancement to the wireless standard, Wi-Fi 6E.

Recognised as the largest expansion of Wi-Fi capacity in over a decade, Wi-Fi 6E unlocks the 6GHz band, providing faster, resilient and more secure connectivity.

The Wi-Fi 6E strengthens benefits and features from the existing Wi-Fi 6 standard and extends it to the 6GHz band to provide more contiguous spectrum, wider channels and less interference than previous generation. Benefits include Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Bi-Directional MU-MIMO, BSS Colouring and the ability to support use cases that demand multi-gigabit speeds.

Local and global enterprises are strengthening focus on advanced wireless networks to accelerate digital transformation, better facilitate innovation and evolve market offerings.

As organisations increase the use of immersive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), high-resolution video conferencing, cloud, hybrid technologies and IoT devices, we are faced with increasing Wi-Fi congestion impacting user experience. Wi-Fi 6E allows enterprises to fully utilise these technologies by more than doubling current Wi-Fi capacity with wider frequencies.

Paving the way, Aruba is bringing to market the Aruba 630 Series Access Points (APs). This is the industry’s first enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 6E solution designed to deliver greater performance to meet greater demand for lower latency and faster data rates to support high-bandwidth applications.

A closer look at Wi-Fi 6E

Already adopted in the US, UK and parts of Europe, Wi-Fi 6E will offer Australia all the cutting-edge features and high network performance of Wi-Fi 6 on the 6GHz band, backed by government approved regulations. The opening of 1200MHz spectrum in the 6GHz band will allow for higher throughput and improved application performance, and up to seven 160 MHz channels will support increased bandwidth and removing slowdowns caused by legacy devices.

Most organisation utilise 2.4GHz to support legacy devices and spread connectivity bandwidth across mixed, complex environments. Moving to Wi-Fi 6E offers organisations access to capacity never available before to meet growing business demands and complement advanced technology adoption. The new Wi-Fi 6E will address challenges like high density, high number of device environment providing simultaneous connectivity, while having increased security within the workforce.

The Aruba 630 Series provides backwards compatibility which allows option for legacy devices to stay on 2.4GHz, while making sure new Wi-Fi 6E capable devices have access to 6GHz bands with no interference, providing high throughput in a real life environment when combined with HPE Smart Rate ports.

Faster, resilient and secure connectivity with Aruba 630 series

Research firm 650 Group indicated Wi-Fi 6E will see rapid adoption with more than 350M devices supporting 6 GHz entering the market and 200 percent growth of Wi-Fi 6E enterprise APs in 2022.

Adopting advanced technologies on existing Wi-Fi means multiple devices fight over bandwidth and airtime. IT Departments will face time and cost pressures while reducing productivity and connectivity for users due to slow legacy devices.

Aruba Wi-Fi 6E APs such as Aruba 630 series will addresses the growing demands of Wi-Fi, deliver high throughput and faster speeds required for added capacity, wider channels and less interference. AP-635 also ensures high availability with two 2.5 Gbps HPE® Smart Rate ethernet ports for hitless failover for both data and power, providing business continuity for mission-critical applications.

Adopting Wi-Fi 6E in the workplace with Dicker Data

Wi-Fi 6E will be a key enabler of various emerging digital use cases, from complementing cloud services, edge networking, IoT to 5G, modern mobile workforces and hybrid workspaces.

As with all Wi-Fi solutions, customers need to ensure it is properly designed to minimise interference from objects and materials in the environment. Dicker Data’s Aruba team can assist partners with site surveys, designing heat maps, solutioning and assisting with proof of concept. Partners can also register for ECSE Wi-Fi design training programs.

Dicker Data work closely with Aruba to ensure we continue to leverage their portfolio of innovative products and help enable our partners provide tailored solutions to transform business for the future.

Are you ready to take the next step towards Wi-Fi 6E? Email aruba.presales@dickerdata.com.au

The Author

Andrew Chen

Andrew Chen is a certified Solutions Architect assisting customers in designing and configuring Aruba networks. With over 14 years experience in the networking industry, Andrew is a trusted go-to advisor by Aruba channel partners. His attention to detail and ability to simplify complex requirements has helped pave the way for customer success. Apart from being passionate about technology, Andrew cooks a mean steak on the barbie.