October/November/December 2020 I 13
Enterprises and Venues
With a renewed capacity to handle high-traffic scenarios
in highly dense environments, such as large corporate
campuses, public hotspots, multi-dwelling units (MDUs),
concert halls and stadiums, Wi-Fi 6E can be an important
complement to 5G networks. In fact, the divergence
in design objectives between Wi-Fi and 5G allows these
otherwise competing and overlapping technologies
to play off of one another’s strengths in multi-modal
wireless deployments (Figure 3).
FIGURE 3: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium
in Dharamsala, India. Bottom photo shows the Dharamsala
Cricket Stadium’s dense wireless access point deployment.
The Dalai Lama actually lives nearby.
CELLULAR VERSUS Wi-Fi
There is a big debate about whether Wi-Fi 6E will
eventually win out over 5G. Whereas 5G offers incredible
mobility, low latencies, and deterministic performance,
Wi-Fi 6E provides more consistent and deterministic
performance with comparatively low latency, cost,
and complexity.
A reasonable and measured conclusion is that they
will both coexist and complement each other’s strengths
and shortcomings. The more important question is how?
Most consumers are agnostic when it comes to wireless
networks; they care only that they work when they
need them to work. Enterprises deploying these technologies,
however, require a better understanding of how they
compare and potentially interoperate. As such, it is important
to compare the historical tenets of cellular and
Wi-Fi networks:
Licensed Versus Unlicensed Networks
One of the primary differences between cellular networks,
like 5G, and Wi-Fi is that cellular networks are licensed.
Using licensed radio spectrum allows cellular networks
to be implicitly more controllable. For example, companies
that deploy cellular networks must pay for the
exclusive right to broadcast data over those frequencies.
Furthermore, in order to use those networks, clients must
use SIM cards that confirm that the user has permission
to gain access to a given network.
On the other hand, Wi-Fi networks run on unlicensed
spectrum. On these networks, anyone can develop and
deploy devices that run on supported frequencies. Traditionally,
these have included the two bands discussed
earlier: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. This also allows for a certain
universality in access. For example, a Wi-Fi device can
be used on a Wi-Fi network anywhere in the world,
whereas cellular networks require validation (through
an associated SIM) to attach to each network.
These very different uses of spectrum create
commensurately unique approaches to the security and
development of associated devices, as well as the inherent
capabilities of those networks. For example, a Wi-Fi network,
due in large part to its attendant frequencies and
equipment, has a comparatively much shorter range than
cellular networks using commercial towers to transmit