The Wi-Fi 6 revolution is here ... for real this time. 

Actually, the biggest upgrade to Wi-Fi tech in decades is called “Wi-Fi 6E,” and it promises to vastly improve the way our router/gateway communicates to the myriad connected devices in your home, including the smart TV, box, stick, dongle, laptop or tablet you stream video on. 

This week, the Wi-Fi Alliance, the industry trade group that oversees the evolution of Wi-Fi, began certification of Wi-Fi 6E. You’ve probably already heard of Wi-Fi 6, but the "E" (for "extended') is new. Introduced in 2019, the sixth iteration of the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard dramatically improved the way routers and gateways handled multiple devices at once. 

Using 802.11 ax Wi-Fi, these devices tap into OFDMA (orthagonal frequency division multiple access), a modulation scheme similar to what is used in DOCSIS and LTE that helps routers and gateways increase the efficiency of how channels are split. 

Last year, American and UK regulators approved use of the 6 GHz band for home Wi-Fi use, allowing WiFi 6 another 1,200 MHz of midband unlicensed spectrum all to itself. 

Also read: Unto This 10G and 5G World Comes WiFi 6

This massive haul of new frequency is where the "extended" comes in for Wi-Fi 6E, offering huge benefits in places such as multi-family dwellings, in which users have traditionally bumped into one another in terms of Wi-Fi frequency usage. 

At CES, which virtually kicks off on Monday, numerous technology vendors will be pitching Wi-Fi 6E gateways and routers, as well as devices like compatible smart phones and laptop computers. 

These devices will be backward compatible with traditional Wi-Fi routers and gateways that rely on old-fangled 2.4 GHz and 5 Ghz spectrum. But paired with those that do enable Wi-Fi 6E, they’ll deliver far lower latency, while maximizing those pricey 1-gig internet subscriptions to boot. 

As this Roku user form thread indicates, don’t look for streaming devices from the major suppliers to offer Wi-Fi 6E players, sticks and dongles at this year’s CES. 

But it’s a good bet that the technology will proliferate beyond the major Wi-Fi components (routers and computers) to peripheral devices by CES 2022. 

Want to learn more? Who doesn't? This video from the Wi-Fi Alliance includes catchy, upbeat catalog music and interesting explainer:

The Wi-Fi Alliance is applauding South Korea for opening up a key spectrum band for Wi-Fi use.

According to the alliance, the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) has agreed to allow Wi-Fi operations in the 6 MHz band.

elated: D.C. Weighs in on FCC's 6GHz Unlicensed Vote 

"With this decision, South Korea becomes the first country in Asia-Pacific to harness additional economic value from unlicensed spectrum and realize the transformative socioeconomic benefits of Wi-Fi 6E," said the alliance, whose backers include Comcast, Qualcomm and Motorola.

The alliance pushed hard, and ultimately successfully, for the U.S. to open up the band.

The FCC voted unanimously April 23 to allow the entire 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band to be shared with unlicensed Wi-Fi, the FCC's latest move in freeing up more spectrum for connecting 5G in-home devices--video streaming, video calls--and connecting IoT devices to the internet. 

The Wi-Fi Alliance today announced a new, standardized tool for collecting diagnostic data on home WiFi networks.

According to CableLabs, the just announced WiFi Certified Data Elements will aid service providers in their quest to troubleshoot and optimize home WiFi networks, a task that “will be critical to deploying 10G,” the cable industry tech consortium said.

CableLabs announced last July that it was partnering with the Wi-Fi Alliance on the initiative.

According to CableLabs, WiFi Certified Data Elements will address “many WiFi [proactive network maintenance]-related pain points identified by members of the cable community.”

These include a lack of visibility into customers‘ WiFi networks and the high cost of WiFi troubleshooting.

While proprietary WiFi proactive network maintenance solutions exist, they require deployment of costly proprietary technology in customers’ equipment and are too restrictive in terms of analytic capabilities, CableLabs added.

“Wi-Fi networks have gained complexity due to the number and types of connected devices,” Wi-Fi Alliance vice president of marketing Kevin Robinson said. “WiFi Data Elements provides greater insight into WiFi network behavior so that service providers more quickly diagnose issues and deliver better customer service, even as WiFi user device types and numbers increase.”

Arris has announced the first device to receive the Wi-Fi Alliance’s EasyMesh certification.

The VAP4641 Wi-Fi extender supports the open standard that enables interoperability with any other Wi-Fi device certified under the open standard. Under current not-so-interoperable life without wide availability of EasyMesh modems and extenders, users are compelled to purchase compatible extenders from the same manufacturer that provided their modem.

Related: Wi-Fi Alliance Takes Aim at Whole-Home Networking 

The wall-plug mounted VAP4641, part of Arris’ HomeAssure family of Wi-Fi products, features 4x4 antennas and 802.11ac Wi-Fi capability.

“In the case of Arris HomeAssure, the Wi-Fi Controller sits on top of the EasyMesh protocol," said Arris CPE division chief Charlie Cheevers, speaking to Wi-Fi NOW. "The EasyMesh MAP creates the network topology and sees everything, but it is the Wi-Fi controller algorithm above that adds all of the critical intelligence, including client steering, band steering, changing channels, and more.” 

“Companies like Google and in particular Apple believe their smartphone should do all it can do make the connection experience as good as possible for the consumer. Now with EasyMesh in the home, the EasyMesh controller will know know more about the overall Wi-Fi topology than the Apple phone. That also means that ideally, Apple phones should obey messages sent from EasyMesh networks,” Cheevers added.

"Our home Wi-Fi vision is to provide ubiquitous coverage from a single network," said Larry Robinson, president, customer premises equipment at Arris, in a statement. "We're proud to continue our contributions to the Wi-Fi Alliance's multi-AP specifications and Wi-Fi EasyMesh program to help service providers bring new innovations like the VAP4641 Wireless Extender to consumers. We're making it easier for consumers to install, configure and manage their home network, while delivering Gigabit speeds."

Looking to drive interoperability standards into whole-home setups that lean on multiple access points, the Wi-Fi Alliance has launched a new program called Wi-Fi Certified EasyMesh.

The new program, targeted to homes and small business environments that use mesh-style, multi-access point setups, is designed to enable service providers to create those networks using a wide range of interoperable devices from different suppliers/brands.

RELATED: Whole-Home WiFi Heats Up

The Wi-Fi Alliance is taking aim at interoperability standards as whole-home WiFi systems sold at retail and offered by service providers start to take significant hold in the market. However, much of that action has centered on one-supplier systems.

RELATED: Netgear’s New Retail Cable Router Targets Whole-Home WiFi

Mesh WiFi systems are taking off as consumers adopt a growing number of smart home devices and video streaming devices and require solid connectivity to all corners of the home, Kevin Robinson, VP of marketing at the Wi-Fi Alliance, said, citing NPD data from 2017 showing that mesh networks already account for roughly 40% of the U.S. retail home WiFi market.

Though several whole-home WiFi products have emerged that support multiple access points and software and analysis systems that tie them together, the push with the EasyMesh program is to establish baseline, multi-vendor interoperable standards that can drive scale into this growing segment of the WiFi market while still giving individual vendors room to innovate, Robinson said

The focus of the EasyMesh program is to standardize protocols that direct the management of the network and help to guide clients, such as smartphones or streaming players, to access points and specific bands that provide the best experience at any given time.

Key components of the standardized program include both the network controller (with one device on the network, such as a gateway or an access point serving as that control point) that coordinates activity with agents, including satellite access points, that are connected to the network.

There are no EasyMesh-certified products available yet as certification testing has yet to start. However, a mix of product and chip suppliers, industry organizations and service providers voiced their support in today’s announcement, including AirTies, Arris, Assia, Broadcom, Marvell, MediaTek, Intel, Qualcomm Atheros, Quantenna, CableLabs, and Liberty Global. 

It used to be common for some homebuilders to weave in a network of Category 5 (or 6) wiring during the internet’s initial wired heyday, but now they’ve turned their focus to designs that are optimized for WiFi.

Taking the lead on that front is the Wi-Fi Alliance, which launched a certification program in June for professionally designed, preinstalled WiFi networks in new homes.

That program, called Wi-Fi Certified Home Design, spells out design practices for planning and installing WiFi networks in a manner that provides consistent coverage throughout the home for core broadband services, as well as for smart home appliances such as thermostats and speakers and other components for the grander Internet of Things sector.

Related: Whole-Home WiFi Heats Up

Lennar is the first major U.S. homebuilder on board with the new program, which will include access points and other WiFi elements that meet up with certain specifications and performance requirements alongside guidelines on home network design.

The Wi-Fi Alliance will certify the devices, but it will be up to builders to pick and choose the products to be implemented into the network design.

“This was a builder-inspired initiative,” Randy Ryder, marketing and business development manager at the Wi-Fi Alliance, said, noting that WiFi coverage is becoming more important as homes get larger and more devices are connected to the network.

The whole-home concept is also expanding beyond the physical home, to support “usable coverage” in areas such as patios and yards, Ryder said, adding, “This provides a turnkey solution that, up until now, has been a DIY effort for a new home owner.”

CableLabs, the industry’s research-and-development organization, participated in the certification program initiative, knowing that cable’s role in providing broadband coverage doesn’t end at the modem. “It’s a great benefit to the cable industry and, frankly, to any other ISP because [access point] placement in the home causes any number of service calls or just a poor quality of experience for the customers,” CableLabs lead architect for wireless Josh Redmore said.

Sales of certified WiFi sales are set to surpass the 10 billion unit mark this month, the Wi-Fi Alliance said, as it introduced a new tool designed to make it easier for consumers to locate WiFi-certified products. The organization said about 6.5 million Wi-Fi-Certified devices ship each day.

Timing the announcement with this week's International CES in Las Vegas, the Alliance said the tool, dubbed The Wi-Fi Certified Product Finder, shows products that meet the interoperability, security and tech benchmarks required to carry the Wi-Fi Certified logo. 

The Wi-Fi Alliance said its industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10% for the next five years, noting that ABI Research indicates that roughly 9.98 billion WiFi devices had been sold worldwide by the end of 2014, and that about 4.5 billion WiFi products are in use today.

ABI also estimates that more than 2.3 billion WiFi devices were sold last year, with mobile phones, tablets and e-readers comprising 64% of total shipments.

WiFi has become a key component of cable’s service delivery arsenal. Members of the U.S. “Cable WiFi” roaming alliance (Comcast, Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications) have deployed more than 300,000 hotspots so far. That number should continue to rise as those MSOs expand their buildouts and welcome new partners.

Charter Communications, for example, told Multichannel News late last year (subscription required) that it expects to join the roaming consortium as it rolls out its “Spectrum WiFi” network.  

The Wi-Fi Alliance has introduced a set “Passpoint” certification features that will help WiFi networks tack on properties that make them behave more like cellular networks.

Passpoint, a program launched in 2012 that has received input from the cable industry, aims to simplify the user experience while also beefing up the security of public WiFi hotspots. Generally, Passpoint/Hotspot 2.0 technologies enable a more seamless handoff as users move from one WiFi hotspot to another, and some of the new elements being woven in can prioritize which hotspots in a given area the user hooks into.

Passpoint requires a higher level of involvement and coordination from operators. Rather than rolling out a new flavor of WiFi technology, such as 802.11ac, Passpoint requires a higher level of coordination among operators and deeper ties into their business practices and authentication systems, Greg Ennis, vice president of technology at the Wi-Fi Alliance, explained.

Here’s the new Passpoint certification features that are being rolled out, complementing existing support for seamless connectivity and WPA2 security:

-Online sign-up and immediate account provisioning: This streamlined, on-the-spot process allows users to sign up for a new operator when in the presence of a Passpoint-enabled hotspot. If a consumer is not already subscribed or provisioned to connect, the system will identify the service providers that support access and give the user direct linkage to the subscription authority.

-Secure registration: Provides a uniform, public key infrastructure to ensure that the provisioning process is secured with the appropriate credentials and configuration for network access.

-Operator policy: Focused on the business needs of hotspot operators, this element enables service providers to distribute their specific subscriber policies, such as which networks to join and in what order of preference.

Several suppliers are also on board to provide test-bed equipment for the Passpoint certification program: Aruba Networks, Broadcom, Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek, Qualcomm Atheros, and Ruckus Wireless.

DigiCert and NetworkFX, a for-profit subsidiary CableLabs that was formed in July 2012, are the authorized certificate authorities for the Passpoint program. Hundreds of products have already been certified for Passpoint.

The new Passpoint features and the launch of the broader certification program will help the technology reach “an inflection point,” Ennis said. 2015 “will certainly be a major deployment year.”

Early Passpoint Adopters

Boingo and Time Warner Cable, which announced a roaming pact in June, are among the early adopters of Passpoint, as are Orange, SK Telecom and Telkom Indonesia. More than 20 operators are participating in WiFi roaming trials based on Passpoint, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Passpoint is also emerging as cable operators expand metro WiFi deployments and continue to light up “homespots” in residential broadband gateways that broadcast a secondary SSID that is accessible by credentialed customers. The technology is also expected to grow in importance as the cable industry and other network providers pursue the development of "carrier-grade" WiFi platforms, which was a hot topic at last month's SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Denver.

The cable operators involved in the “CableWiFi” roaming alliance – TWC, Comcast, Cablevision Systems, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications – have already deployed 250,000 quasi-public hotspots in outdoor venues and business locations. Comcast, which is in the process of deploying millions of homespots, has also forged a WiFi roaming deal with Liberty Global.

And Passpoint could enable cable operators to develop so-called “WiFi-first” mobile voice and data strategies that use cellular networks as a fallback. These emerging business models provide “a disruptive counterpoint to traditional operator services, and retailers are deploying Wi-Fi as a way to improve customer engagement,” The Wi-Fi Alliance noted in Wednesday’s announcement “Wi-Fi roaming agreements among service providers are emerging as an important complement to traditional cellular roaming.”

In a report issued earlier this week, Craig Moffett, partner and senior analyst at MoffettNathanson Research, said the cable industry appears to be best positioned for such a shift, even if it’s not expected to be ready for primetime for years.

The Wi-Fi Alliance also presented results of a study conducted in the U.S. and the U.K. that found that Passpoint can drive customer loyalty and boost business value for service providers and retailers.

Among the findings, 70% of survey respondents (1,000 tablet and smartphone users in the U.S. and another 1,000 in the U.K.) said they would be less likely to leave their cable or wireless provider if they offered a network of widely available Passpoint hotspots, while 68% said they’d switch mobile providers for a Passpoint-enabled WiFi offering, and half would be willing to pay more to get it.

The Wi-Fi Alliance is demonstrating Passpoint, including the new features, today (October 8) at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in concern with the Wireless Broadband Alliance Wi-Fi Global Congress event.