Network Companies will have an easier job defining network gear with the introduction of a simplified Wi Fi standard.
Instead of 802.11ax, 802.11ac or 802.11n, the Wi-Fi Alliance is set to move to, Wi-Fi 6 for ax, Wi Fi 5 for ac and Wi Fi 4 replaces n.
The sweeping changes to the way the Alliance names Wi-Fi standards, will start appearing on Network gear early in 2019. The Wi-Fi Alliance said that they are ditching its clunky Wi-Fi standard branding in favour of the new ID system.
Anything that pre-dates 802.11n/Wi-Fi 4 isn’t officially getting renamed, but if you wanted to, you could extend the overhaul all the back to 1999’s 802.11b, which would now be Wi-Fi 1.
The move is designed to help consumers better understand which Wi-Fi standard their devices support, the Wi-Fi Alliance said, adding that it expects hardware manufacturers to begin adopting the simplified version numbering on its products in the immediate future, along with the newly revealed logos. By way of reference, that’s an official Wi-Fi Alliance mocked up ‘Wi-Fi 6’ sticker at the top of the page.
It’ll also be easier to understand the speed capabilities of networks in the future, if the Alliance gets its way, as it wants to see the numbers added to the end of Wi-Fi connections, so you’ll be able to opt to link up your device to a ‘5’ over a ‘4’, in theory.
“For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sort through technical naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Alliance is excited to introduce Wi-Fi 6, and present a new naming scheme to help industry and Wi-Fi users easily understand the Wi-Fi generation supported by their device or connection,” commented Wi-Fi Alliance President and CEO Edgar Figueroa.
Here’s a brief summary of the key Wi-Fi naming changes.
802.11ax is now Wi-Fi 6
802.11ac is now Wi-Fi 5
802.11n is now Wi-Fi 4