Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, was released in 2019. It's just now starting to see mainstream adoption as a Wi-Fi standard for Wi-Fi manufacturers and businesses. Although it may be more expensive, Wi-Fi 6 Access Points provide key advantages over Wi-Fi 5. 801.11ax performs up to 4 times better in denser environments than its 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) counterpart. Wi-Fi 6 is also designed to better manage multiple types of Wi-Fi devices simultaneously connecting to the Access Point. Finally, according to the chip makers, Wi-Fi 6 provides up to 3x faster performance.

There are two main features of Wi-Fi 6 that we will cover in this text that make all this possible, MU-MIMO and OFDMA.

MU-MIMO

First introduced with Wi-Fi 5, MU-MIMO has been enhanced in Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 5's MIMO technology allowed Access Point devices to communicate with multiple devices at once. However, those devices could not communicate simultaneously with the Access Point. This would occasionally cause slower speeds and network congestion if multiple high-bandwidth applications require a simultaneous connection. Wi-Fi 6 MU-MIMO provides an enhanced version of MIMO that allows devices to respond simultaneously to the Access Point. The advantage of this is the improved performance of each flow. Each Access Point you deploy will experience increased efficiency in multi-user environments, along with a slight reduction in client latency. Improved MU-MIMO means fewer total access points needed for a solution, enabling cheaper Wi-Fi 6 deployments.

In addition, the total amount of MU groupings has increased from 4 to 8 with the 802.11ax standard, which improves the efficiency of a single access point handling multiple broadband devices. MU groups allow devices to be connected together up to 8 streams that can simultaneously communicate between access points and Wi-Fi devices. This solves the occasional Wi-Fi 5 problem of overloading these currents when multiple devices across several groups are using high-bandwidth applications at the same time.

OFDMA

OFDMA stands for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access and it is one of the most important features that come with the Wi-Fi 6 802.1ax standard. As technology has advanced, Wi-Fi has become a key feature of many devices. OFDMA directly affects uplink and downlink streams and how client devices are connected to the access point and then prioritized for bandwidth. This is done by organizing bandwidth usage by client devices into Resource Units or RUs. Resource units are those that enable the access point to carry multiple services for different needs at the same time. It sounds a bit like MU groupings, but still, resource units benefit better from high density deployments.

Through the features provided by OFDMA, data rates from 0.4 Kbps to 9.6 Gbps can be supported for various application needs. This allows 802.11 ax solutions to be incredibly flexible with how the technology manages bandwidth depending on the needs of client devices. OFDMA is best used in deployments with a wide variety of devices, such as VoIP phones, laptops, personal smartphones, and other IoT devices. By categorizing the devices that connect to the access point into resource units, the AP can more efficiently "reserve" bandwidth for devices in real time. In condensed Wi-Fi deployments, this ensures that each device receives the amount of bandwidth necessary for a high-quality user experience.

MU-MIMO and OFDMA together

MU-MIMO and OFDMA come together in Wi-Fi 6 to complement each other in Wi-Fi deployments. In a real Wi-Fi 6 deployment, MU-MIMO and OFDMA are dynamically used by the access point depending on device types, QoS, and upstream/downstream usage. MU-MIMO allows access points to better handle multiple high-bandwidth devices, while OFDMA takes over to better manage many different devices. Both features result in a more efficient Wi-Fi solution, lower device latency, and faster network speeds.