Wi-Fi 6: What do you know about the fastest network ever?
After a long wait, the Wi-Fi Alliance, which manages standards for wireless networks, announced the latest and fastest version of the wireless network, called Wi-Fi 6, which is the sixth generation of wireless network standards. The technology will soon spread widely to the wireless Internet "Wi-Fi 6", which is considered the fastest ever, and is able to cover a wider area compared to the current generation, and due to the large number of devices connected to the "Wi-Fi" network, this technology had to be developed to be able to accommodate a large number of hardware, while maintaining speed and performance.
Wi-Fi 6 is a new way to connect to the Internet and an upgraded standard that enables compatible devices to transmit signals more efficiently. Wi-Fi 6 will increase speeds within a crowded network, as well as increase the theoretical maximum speed from 3.5 Gbps to 9.6 Gbps.
Wi-Fi 6 also has a set of tools that allow you to work faster and deliver more data at the same time. In addition to the high speed, the network also includes a significant improvement in security. This means that the biggest improvement that Wi-Fi 6 networks will offer compared to previous generations is speed.
When used with a single connected device, the maximum potential speed will increase by 40% compared to Wi-Fi 5, an increase of 6.1 Gbps, but more importantly, this speed can be divided across an entire network of devices rather than a single device. This increases the speed of each device on the network.
Here it must be noted that if a router that supports "Wi-Fi 6" is installed, this does not mean that you will get a faster speed, but rather you will get the maximum speed provided by the Internet service provider, that is, the maximum speed for the local network.
For example if you have connection speeds of up to 150 Mbps, which is only 12.5% of what a Wi-Fi 6 router can provide, but if you want to take full advantage of the extra speed of Wi-Fi 6 technology You will need a faster plan from your ISP.
The new wireless network update seems to usher in a future where many devices will be able to connect to the Internet faster than before.
In her report, published by the American magazine "Wired" in its British version, writer Daphne Le Prince stated that the Wi-Fi Alliance, which licenses Wi-Fi devices, has decided to make wireless networks easier to accommodate by changing The names of the different standards for this technology, so instead of talking about 802.11b, which was the first standard for Wi-Fi technology released in 1999, we can now say Wi-Fi 1.
This is why Wi-Fi 6 marks the sixth time that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (the international organization that sets standards for the telecommunications industry) has developed its wireless local area network (WLAN) technology and issued a new standard for it, 802.11ax, which has become Wi-Fi 6. This update is expected to help improve the speed of the Wi-Fi network. Although it is not yet ready for widespread adoption, some compatible devices have been released.
Why should we care about this technology?
In theory, Wi-Fi 6 will reduce the time you spend plugging and unplugging your router to download a movie. "The network will provide a high-density environment, where many devices can use the same wireless access point," said Bill Menezes, analyst at Gartner.
According to technology analysts, Wi-Fi 6 will be 30% faster than Wi-Fi 5. A team of analysts at CNET has measured a speed of around 1320 megabytes per second, which is way more than you need. For most devices to function, this update will not only affect the 5 GHz networks that transmit data quickly, but will also make the 2.4 GHz networks faster than before, knowing that they are usually very slow.
What makes this technology revolutionary? According to Gartner analyst Lev Olof Valen, Wi-Fi 6 is fundamentally "evolutionary" and could be a "turning point" for situations where many users are in Need to connect to wireless networks, such as stadiums, shopping malls, convention centers or airports.
In these high-density environments, different wireless access points use the same transmission channels, causing interference. In this case, Wi-Fi 6 uses BSG coloring, which detects shared frequencies and identifies each group with its own number, so networks can intelligently decide if a channel is too busy and avoid congestion.
According to Gartner analyst Christian Canales, Wi-Fi 6 technology will be very useful in increasingly connected workspaces, that is, in which employees use as many as four wireless devices, such as laptops, tablets, phones, wearables, and buildings that have become Smarter.
Another area that could improve as a result of this technology is augmented reality and virtual reality, which companies can use for training, product design, or visual presentations. This does not mean that you will not notice any change, in homes that require a strong Internet of Things connection, fast bandwidth is an improvement in this area.
A new device that converts "Wi-Fi" signals into electricity
Scientists have invented a new device that can convert "Wi-Fi" signals into electricity, which opens new horizons in the field of wireless charging and alternative energy sources, and the author, Michelle Starr, reported In its report, published by the American “Science Alert” website, this device not only collects Wi-Fi signals, but also converts them into electrical energy that can be used to charge electronic devices without the need to rely on wires or batteries.
This device consists of an antenna that contains semiconductors that convert electromagnetic waves into a continuous electric current, and this device, which was invented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Technical University of Madrid, relies on a radio frequency antenna that captures electromagnetic waves of alternating current (such as “Wi-Fi” wireless waves ).
The author indicated that these waves are transmitted to two-dimensional semiconductors, which convert them into a continuous electric current, and produce approximately 40 microwatts, and although this energy is not huge, it is sufficient to operate a light-emitting diode or electrical chips.
Since this antenna is flexible, it can be distributed over large areas, or used in small portable devices such as flexible smartphones. The author added that this device, which converts Wi-Fi signals into electrical energy, is not the first of its kind. This idea has been around for a while and engineers have continued to develop it.
This time, the engineers used a different element, which is the "rectifier", which assumes the function of converting alternating current into direct current. During previous experiments, the air rectifiers were made of a material similar to silicon or gallium arsenide, known for its hardness and exorbitant cost.
In contrast, the team used molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) to make an elastic rectifier, a material made up of three atoms. And if it interacts with some chemicals, it causes a gradual transformation between semiconductors and metallic materials.
This combination is known as the "Schottky coupling" - one of the special electronic components - as it simulates the properties of the semiconductor used in previous pneumatic rectifiers, which gives engineers an antenna that can reduce unwanted electrical capacitance and operate at high speed, and the author mentioned that this pneumatic rectifier can Capture much higher frequencies than other flexible rectifiers that cannot capture the gigahertz frequencies through which Wi-Fi operates.
"This design enabled the flexible and fast device to cover most of the radio frequency bands used by our everyday electronic devices, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular networks," said Engineer Zou Khang of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Wi-Fi 6 devices receive inspection mark
The Wi-Fi Consortium has announced that ax-WLAN-compliant devices have been recognized with the Wi-Fi Certified 6 seal. In order to make it easier for the user to identify routers, smartphones and laptops that are compatible with the new standard.
For manufacturers, submitting wireless devices (WLAN) for certification or accreditation is voluntary, and the new Wi-Fi 6 standard provides nearly four times the capacity of Wi-Fi 5 (ac-WLAN) in order to achieve higher rates. In data transmission and greater energy efficiency.
In addition, the Wi-Fi 6 standard can dynamically divide the wireless channels used by connected devices, as well as flexibly allocate the bandwidth for each channel individually. This means that the user can use old laptops equipped with Wi-Fi 4 (n-WLAN) with "routers" equipped with Wi-Fi 6 without any problems, but the performance is slower at the same level as the Wi-Fi 4 standard. Wi-Fi new names for standards from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 6.
In these countries, mobile Internet is faster than Wi-Fi
OpenSignal, a company specializing in communication networks, published a comparison between the speed of the Internet via Wi-Fi networks and mobile phone networks for some countries.
The company indicated that 33 countries around the world, including Arab countries such as Lebanon, Qatar and Oman, enjoy downloading data from the Internet via LTE cellular networks, much faster than downloading data via Wi-Fi networks.
In addition to developed countries such as Australia and France, the list included countries such as Myanmar and South Africa. The company indicated that the download speed of data over LTE networks in Australia, for example, is faster by (+13 MB), in France (+2.5 MB), and in France (+2.5 MB). Qatar (+11.8 megabits), and according to OpenSignal Vice President Ian Fogg, this data indicates that new mobile network technology contributed significantly to this development in data downloads, but this was at the expense of free Wi-Fi networks.
Therefore, smartphone manufacturers must bear in mind the importance of developing technologies to deal with Wi-Fi networks on their devices, and home internet companies must re-evaluate the work of their networks.
The Five Warnings When Using "Wi-Fi" During Holidays
If you are used to looking for free Wi-Fi whenever you book a hotel during your vacation, it is better to quit this habit, because This exposes you to several risks, including theft of your identity and money.
Becky Frost, Director of Consumer Education at ProtectMyID, a company that specializes in identity theft protection, warns against using Wi-Fi in public places, such as hotels and airports, because this may lead to hacking of phone data, and the risk increases when Carry out any financial transactions over the phone during the holidays.
The Wi-Fi password causes a teenager to kill his sister
It shows that the "hackers" and thieves are fully aware of where the public wireless sites are, by using a "Wi-Fi sniffing" device, which enables them to easily see What happens on a network, so it offers the following tips to protect your personal and financial data, according to Trip Savy:
No Buying
Becky Frost advises all vacationers to never access a website, credit card or bank website through an open network (Wi-Fi), and also not to make any purchases on the Internet Or from within the app, and finally think twice before sending or receiving sensitive emails.
Frost emphasizes the use of a virtual private network (VPN) or phone data, and it is preferable before leaving the country to make sure that the operating system and firmware are updated to the latest version, and this will close most of the security vulnerabilities.
Is the network secure?
As Becky Frost stresses, check with the hotel if the available Wi-Fi is secure.
She explains: "The "Wi-Fi" network in the hotel lobby is usually public, and if you need to enter the login and password to access the network in your room, this is usually an indication that the Internet connection is safe, but it is always smart to You ask the hotel how they protect your information."
A different browser
In order to protect your browsing history on the Internet and your passwords, it may be advisable to use a different browser than your usual daily browser, so, if you use "Google Chrome" for example, you can Install "Explorer" to use during your trip.
Hotspot
Ask the hotel where you are staying if there is a possibility to provide you with a "Wi-Fi Hotspot" for you and your family members, for an additional fee.
Don't forget to log out
Be sure to log out of applications and websites after each use.