The best approach to the future of W-Fi is better use of existing spectrum, not adding more unlicensed spectrum, according to Richard Bennett, a network engineer who contributed to the original W-Fi specification, 802.11n, and ultra-wideband standards.
Bennett’s study, “Lessons from the History of Wi-Fi,” found that larger channels offer only “incremental improvements only at very close range”. Newer versions of Wi-Fi using existing unlicensed spectrum near the router are capable of avoiding bottlenecks in the home. However, additional spectrum used just a room away did not provide the same benefits.
Bennett says that “real-world Wi-Fi performance plateaued” since Wi-Fi 5 was introduced in 2013. The greatest Improvements in performance since then are due to more efficient technologies, not additional bandwidth.
There is a real world dynamic at play: Unlicensed spectrum is free and therefore “diminishes the incentive for engineers to develop more efficient Wi-Fi technologies.” Conversely, since mobile networks must pay for spectrum, engineers and the organizations that employ them are incentivized to drive innovation and, in essence, do more with less.
Bennett concludes that the correct path forward is development of more efficient use of available spectrum, not more of it.
“Wi-Fi has reached a point where additional unlicensed spectrum no longer translates into tangible performance gains,” Bennett wrote in an abstract of his study. “The United States must rationalize its spectrum allocations in the mid-band to maintain leadership in both licensed and unlicensed technologies. This means prioritizing licensed mobile networks that are facing real congestion challenges, rather than over-allocating spectrum for Wi-Fi.”
Other takeaways from the report:
Sufficient Spectrum for Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi currently has all the spectrum it needs, even for high-performance enterprise networks. Additional allocations of unlicensed spectrum, particularly in the lower 7 GHz band, are unnecessary and would not benefit users.
Device Upgrade Lag: Advances in Wi-Fi technology are consistently hampered by the slow device upgrade cycle. Newer standards are often underutilized due to the widespread presence of older devices in the field.
