(The Gist of Science Reporter) WiFi 6 Tools-of-the-trade are Here [JULY-2019]

WiFi 6 Tools-of-the-trade are Here

Even before any Indian service provider has announced the new Gigabit Internet speeds of WiFi 6, the first devices that will help leverage these higher data speeds have come to India- sorry your existing home/office router or the access point dome of the Wifi in your neighbourhood Café Coffee Day can't tackle the enhanced data rates of Gigabit Internet aka WiFi6!
Netgear was the first to bring WiFi 6-ready home routers to India. In May 2019, they launched two Gigabit models: Nighthawk AX4 and AX8. Both offer data speeds that are four times faster than the fastest routers available today - rated up to 3 Gbpsf that is 3000 Mbps. In practice one can expect top data speeds of around 2000- 2400 Mbps.
These routers will work in both the standard WiFi bands- 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, switching at will to select the best route between router and device.
The difference between the two models is in the number of parallel data streams they handle- 4 and 8 respectively.
WiFi 6 routers promise not just zippier speeds but better penetration: many Indian homes have concrete walls which are not wireless conductors. WiFi6 brings technology that improves performance in such environments by harnessing multiple beams and bands.
The Netgear WiFi6 routers cost between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 today. They are significantly costlier than WiFi 5 or 802.11ac routers, but anyone buying a new router this year may see the advantage in ensuring that it can serve for 4-5 years without becoming obsolete, there is a price to pay for this future proofing.
Hand in hand with WiFi 6 routers, Access Point hardware ready for the new WiFi standard has also reached India.
Aruba, a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard has been quick to offer two series -530 and 550 - of WiFi 6 access points for campus and public WiFi providers.
In fact, the CV Raman Block of the International Institute of Information Technology (HIT) in Bangalore, has already been upgraded by Aruba to offer WiFi 6 speeds as soon as any telecom provider offers the service. Other networking leaders like Cisco are also ready with their WiFi 6 solutions for enterprise.