The next evolution of WiFi, 802.11ax, is now available for certification the global industry consortium Wi-Fi Alliance announced today. The technology, which is being marketed as "WiFi 6," claims to substantially improve network performance for a more diverse set of devices and specialized requirements.

Similar to the benefits trumpeted by 5G vendors, WiFi 6 will deliver higher speeds, lower latency, greater power efficiency, heightened capacity, and an enhanced coverage footprint, according to the group. It also boasted that WiFi carries more than half of all global internet traffic today.

WiFi Certified 6 products will deliver “nearly four times the capacity of WiFi 5” and increase operators’ ability to offload traffic to devices based on their environment and requirements, including low power, low latency, industrial IoT scenarios, and demanding enterprise applications, according to the group.

“Companies have been in the loop as to how this certification program has been taking shape and the timing of when WiFi 6 certification would be ready. The market has gotten started already — chips have been made and are shipping in products already,” Philip Solis, research director in charge of connectivity and smartphone semiconductors at IDC, wrote in an email response to questions.

“What certification does is allow companies to ensure interoperability and then mark their products with ‘WiFi 6,’ which is easier for most people to understand than the IEEE letters — 802.11ax in this case,” Solis explained.

WiFi 6 is entering the market on an almost parallel track with 5G, and as such most vendors are pursuing strategies that deliver on new opportunities presented by both technologies in unison. “It is coincidental that newer versions of both WiFi and cellular technology are coming up around the same time,” Solis said. “They will both benefit, for example, as people get used to the data rates WiFi 6 can deliver, they will want faster mobile data rates and vice versa. 5G is going to eventually have great outdoor coverage while WiFi will continue to be relied upon mostly for indoor coverage, though you will see both at various venues.”

Qualcomm has released WiFi 6 products for networking and cellular environments, and earlier this year Cisco released a series of new access points and core switches to complement its 5G efforts. Those devices, including thousands more, will likely now go through the certification process.

Since its founding in 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 50,000 certifications and its list of supporters reads like a who’s who of technology stalwarts from all aspects of the industry. Aruba, Asus, AT&T, Boingo, Broadcom, Cisco, Comcast, CommScope, Cypress, Extreme Networks, Intel, Netgear, Orange, Qualcomm, TP-Link, Xiaomi, and others released statements applauding the certification development.

Although WiFi 6 has broad support it’s unlikely to reach many networks until 2020, another similarity it shares with 5G. “The first WiFi 6 enabled devices are available now,” Solis added. “Typically, the temporary lack of WiFi certifications do not hold back the market because chips are developing with the almost final IEEE standard and the Wi-Fi Alliance’s direction in mind. … By the end of the year there will be many PCs with WiFi 6 and more WiFi access points, including mesh WiFi access points with WiFi 6.”

The certification program is designed to ensure that devices support interoperability and the many advancements deemed central to the WiFi 6 standard including: orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), the next generation of WPA3 WiFi security, multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology, 160-megahertz channels to increase bandwidth, target wake time, 1024 quadrature amplitude modulation (1024 QAM), and transmit beamforming. Manufacturers that earn certification will have authority to label their products with a badge.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note10 was named as the first smartphone to earn WiFi 6 certification. Apple’s just announced iPhone 11 devices also support the standard, but it’s unclear if the manufacturer has earned certification yet. Networking equipment and silicon from Broadcom, Cypress, Intel, Marvell, Qualcomm, and Ruckus have also earned certification, according to the group.

“This is the point at which WiFi 6 starts to become mainstream — it’s the end of the beginning,” said Tiago Rodrigues, general manager of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, which promotes WiFi interoperability, in a prepared statement. “There are still some things to watch out for and challenges to be addressed. It won’t necessarily be a straight rip-and-replace of existing equipment as there will need to be some more planning and re-configuring.”