Kevin Robinson, VP of marketing at the Wi-Fi Alliance, tipped the Wi-Fi certification 6 programme (launched 16 September), to improve experience in congested areas, providing a major coverage boost in stadiums, train stations and airports.

Speaking to Mobile World Live, Robinson (pictured, below) explained the benefits of the new generation of the technology will be largely noticeable in busy environments, due to its more efficient usage of the spectrum compared with previous versions.

As opposed to previous generations of Wi-Fi, which are focused on delivering performance at a high level for one device, Robinson said Wi-Fi 6 certification is looking to optimise the performance of all connected devices.

“In a home environment you might have a sensor device that has very low data requirements, but it needs to sleep off in order to conserve battery power. You might have an AR or VR headset that has very strict latency requirements. And then you might have a tablet that uses a lot of data but doesn’t necessarily need low latency. Wi-Fi 6 is able to tailor how it serves each of those diverse device categories, so that each gets the type of data service it needs.”

The security landscape is supposedly set to improve as well, with the new generation now requiring support for WPA3 – the latest generation of Wi-Fi security.

Wi-Fi Alliance, the non-profit organisation which certifies Wi-Fi products, is expecting “incredible” interest in Wi-Fi 6 from industry players including service providers and enterprises, as well as end users.

“We are seeing manufacturers that highlight Wi-Fi 6 as one of the more important features in their devices,  such as iPhone 11”, Robinson added.

With 5G deployments underway, Robinson believes Wi-Fi 6 will also complement the mobile technology.