Wi-Fi 6 and 5G each provide higher speeds, lower latency, and increased capacity over their predecessors, leaving companies with an interesting dilemma. Should they maintain the status quo by continuing with Wi-Fi, or should they consider switching to 5G to leverage its next-generation benefits?
Wi-Fi 6 and 5G
For years, two different types of wireless technology have coexisted. Wi-Fi is a type of local area network (LAN) used primarily indoors—for example, inside a home or workplace. Cellular networks, like the 4G LTE networks used by major operators, are a type of wide area network (WAN) used both indoors and outdoors, generally over long distances.
Both 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are complementary technologies that provide higher speeds, lower latency, and increased capacity over their predecessors.
Wi-Fi and 5G offer complementary functionalities. Where the user experience is concerned, 5G and Wi-Fi 6 can both achieve gigabit speeds and low latency.
Because Wi-Fi has a lower cost to deploy, maintain, and scale—especially where access points need to serve more users—it will continue to be the predominant technology for home and business environments. This provides great support for dozens of data-hungry devices, like PCs, tablets, smartphones, streaming devices, TV sets, and printers, which must all connect to the network. Thanks to its longer range, 5G will be used for mobile connections, like smartphones. It will also be used for connected cars, smart city deployments, and even for large manufacturing operations.
Key considerations for enterprise:
Total Ownership Cost or IP licensing costs associated with cellular technologies make cellular infrastructure and 5G more expensive than its Wi-Fi counterparts. Unlike Wi-Fi, each new cellular generation is typically accompanied by new, and often expensive spectrum which in turn licensed off to the highest bidders. In addition, cellular services typically come with subscription fees paid to the network operator who owns the infrastructure and spectrum.
Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in its install base with more than 13 billion Wi-Fi devices in active use worldwide and many of them have a long replacement cycle. Every new generation of Wi-Fi ensures that these devices can continue to connect to the new Wi-Fi infrastructure just as they did with the older ones, thereby protecting the existing investment in legacy devices. On the other hand, cellular upgrades don’t provide complete backwards compatibility and typically support only one or two generations.
Wi-Fi runs on the same infrastructure used by previous generations not requiring any complex backend features such as packet core and can be deployed with ease without technical expertise requirements. 5G on the other hand runs on an entirely new infrastructure and landscape, requiring new antennas to be deployed across cities and countries to allow hosting multiple devices and offering fast connectivity speeds.
Both Wi-Fi 6 and 5G are extremely reliable when deployed correctly. Although 5G is deployed using licensed spectrum, which is less subject to interference than unlicensed spectrum, operating on licensed spectrum doesn’t always translate to higher levels of reliability. Numerous enterprise Wi-Fi customers have achieved extremely high levels of reliability and performance in demanding environments, such as large, sophisticated manufacturing plants. Wi-Fi 6 improves reliability even further.
Companies can now also leverage private 5G networks to power their technology and communication logistics within their footprint such as airports, warehouses, factories and other geographical areas. This means businesses don’t need to rely on network providers like Vodafone or O2 to provide their infrastructure and access to spectrum licenses. The difference between public and private 5G networks resides in who has a license or priority access to the wireless spectrum, and who owns and operates the network’s base stations and infrastructure. With this, businesses can leverage greater cost management, security and governance over their network and IoT operations. Some companies currently deploying private 5G networks include Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen (Germany), Bosch Factory in Worcester (UK) and Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport (France).
Next Steps
The reality is that Wi-Fi and 5G are both evolving to better serve end users, and both markets will grow to address the macro trend of connecting devices and analysing the data generated by these devices. 5G will serve business apps requiring high-speed mobility and macro coverage, while Wi-Fi 6 will continue to prove its value as a reliable, secure and cost-effective access technology for most enterprise applications, as it does today.
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