Network Infrastructure Blog

Current estimates are that most (50-80%, depending on the country) of the world’s mobile data is carried on Wi-Fi devices. Driven by the exponential demand for throughput in support of a range of applications in our professional and personal lives (e.g. remote working and conferencing, Telehealth, IIoT/industry 4.0, IoT, AR/VR, wireless gaming, 4K and 8K video streaming to name a few), and as a result the specification of high performance network cabling supporting access layer switches and uplink connections has never been more critical to deliver the right capacity for next generation wireless access points.

With reports of the first Wi-Fi 7 routers already being released onto the market (well ahead of the projected standard release in 2024) it’s clear that for those organizations already planning future green-field and retrofit projects that Wi-Fi 7 is already something to be included in your design considerations.

What will be the technical advantages of Wi-Fi 7?

For the uninitiated, the IEEE is already actively working on the development of a new standard IEEE P802.11be™ “Enhancements for Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Wireless LAN” otherwise known as Wi-Fi 7. With an associated theoretical (46.1 Gb/s upstream and downstream combined) and “real world” (> 20 Gb/s upstream and downstream combined) maximum throughput, Wi-Fi 7 is intended to address your increasing application demands through a number of enhancements.

Most significant among these features is “multi-link operation” which allows for simultaneous transmission and reception enabling greater throughput and improved latency. Also, under consideration are expanded frequencies (including 6GHz), wider channels (including 320MHz) and better modulation (4096-QAM) – all while maintaining backwards compatibility with 11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi networks.

What does Wi-Fi 7 mean for the cabling infrastructure?

While IEEE P802.11be is not projected to be released until 2024, as we’re seeing, some of the key characteristics are sufficiently stable for some vendors to start releasing pre-standard Wi-Fi 7 devices, a trend that the market has also seen ahead of other Wi-Fi releases for 5, 6 and 6E. With preliminary throughput of > 18 Gb/s, these devices incorporate 2 x 10GBASE-T ports using link aggregation to support network uplinks.

In preparation for these higher speeds, multiple telecommunications standards, including ANSI/TIA-568.1-E, specifically recommend deploying two category 6A or higher cabling runs to each Wireless Access Point (WAP). Only class EA/ category 6A and higher rated network cabling provides guaranteed support of 10GBASE-T over all installation environments and channel topologies up to 100 meters.  Additionally, the use of shielded cables such as Siemon’s category 6A and category 7A ranges, in conjunction with our connectivity solutions which incorporate our innovative PowerGUARD® technology, provide the optimal approach when looking to support remote power delivery used to power these next generation Wi-Fi devices.

How can you best prepare for Wi-Fi 7?

The technology already exists to support your organization deliver exceptional Wi-Fi, and the right selection will lay an effective foundation for migrating to Wi-Fi 7 when the time is right for you. No matter where you are today in your Wi-Fi journey our team of technical experts are on-hand to support you in navigating your options. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Other links you may find interesting:

• Blog: Will Wi-Fi 7 Make Cabled Networks Obsolete?
• Article: Staying Power – Why Wi-Fi 7 and Li-Fi still can’t threaten copper cabling networks
• White Paper: Advantages of using Siemon shielded cabling systems to power remote network devices
• Application Guide: Solutions for today’s wireless networks?

Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) that operates at 5 GHz reached broad adoption and saw steady growth over the past five years at the same time that the mobile industry started talking about 5G cellular service. This caused some confusion among those who thought they were one and the same. As a result, when IEEE developed Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), some assumed it was better than 5G. To complicate matters, we now have Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) capable of supporting 6 GHz operation in addition to the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands used by Wi-Fi 6.

But let’s get one thing clear – cellular service and Wi-Fi are NOT the same and 5 GHz Wi-Fi (a frequency band) has absolutely nothing to do with 5G (a generation)!

Licensed Cellular Bands

5G is the umbrella term used for the fifth generation of cellular network technology. Most of us are used to seeing the 4G LTE icon on our mobile phones, and some of us in metropolitan areas are now seeing the 5G icon as carriers like Verizon and AT&T are now rolling out early versions of this service. Cellular networks like 4G LTE and 5G operate in the electromagnetic spectrum using licensed bands (i.e., frequencies) that can only be used by the company that licensed them. For example, Verizon’s 5G network uses 28 and 39 GHz high-band spectrum, which is considerably faster than their 4G that uses 700 to 2500 MHz frequency.

While it is anticipated that 5G will ultimately include some unlicensed bands for 5G operators and others to use for new networks or to enhance existing networks, these are not the same as the unlicensed 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz radio bands used in Wi-Fi applications.

Unlicensed Wi-Fi Bands

Rather than connecting to the cellular network (and paying a mobile service provider), Wi-Fi signals connect to private networks through wireless access points (WAP) within a limited range and with access to the Internet through the private network’s Internet service provider (ISP). Unlike licensed cellular frequencies that are assigned to a specific cellular provider, each generation of Wi-Fi uses specific unlicensed bands that can be used by anyone. So, whether you’re connecting to a Wi-Fi 5 WAP at a coffee shop in Chicago or at your office in New York, you’re using the 5 GHz band.

• Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n): 2.4 or 5 GHz
• Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac): 5 GHz only
• Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax): 2.4 or 5 GHz
• Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax): 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz

It’s important to note that Wi-Fi 6E is not a new wireless protocol but rather an expansion or “second wave” implementation of Wi-Fi 6 to add operation in the 6 GHz band where there are more available non-overlapping channels, fewer devices operating, and less potential for interference. As legislation comes to fruition that opens the 6 GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use, the total spectrum available to a Wi-Fi 6E device is increased by a factor of roughly five times. This is enough spectrum to offer 7 additional non-overlapping 160 MHz wide channels or 14 non-overlapping 80 MHz wide channels, providing more transmission opportunities and less interference in dense or large enterprises environments.

What About Speed?

With a 4G or 5G cellular network, the data transmission speed you achieve depends on what network you’re connected to, how busy it is (i.e., how many others are connecting to the same network), and what device you’re using. The maximum transmission speed of early 4G cellular networks is 150 Mbps, with an average download speed per user of just 10 Mbps. 4G LTE and 4G LTE-A, which use long-term evolution and long-term evolution advanced communication, offer speeds of 300 Mbps to 1 Gbps, with an average download speed per user of about 15 Mbps. Introduced due to the limitations of the first implementations of 4G, LTE shifts data transmission to an Internet protocol system to allow transmission of larger packets of data with lower latency.

5G cellular service uses higher-frequency radio waves to offer theoretical speeds of 1 to 10 Gbps, with average expected download speeds of 50 Mbps and reduced latency. However, the higher-frequency radio waves of 5G have a shorter range than the frequencies used by previous 4G towers, requiring more smaller cells located closer to users and devices. This is one of the reasons why edge data centers are popping up at the base of these towers. You can learn more about that by checking out Siemon’s white paper, “Why Edge? Why Now? How the Rise of Edge Computing will Reshape the Data Center Landscape.”

Wi-Fi speeds are faster than cellular and have more to do with the width and number of channels available in the frequency bands, the ability to transmit and receive over multiple antennas (i.e., spatial streams), the modulation scheme, and the allocation, or dividing up, of bandwidth according to needs. Wi-Fi 4 with 4 spatial streams offers a theoretical maximum data rate of 476 Mb/s (144 Mb/s per stream), Wi-Fi 5 with 8 spatial streams offers a theoretical maximum data rate of 6.93 Gb/s (866 Mb/s per stream), and Wi-Fi 6/6E with 8 spatial streams and a more efficient modulation scheme offers a theoretical maximum data rate of 9.61 Gb/s (1.2 Gb/s per stream).

Narrower channels that are 20 or 40 MHz wide are typically aggregated to support higher throughput, while wider 80 and 160 MHz channels allow for higher data speeds. The limited number of 20 and 40 MHz channels in the 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz bands makes achieving maximum throughput challenging, and wider channels have historically had limited availability. There are only six 80 MHz and two 160 MHz channels available in the 5 GHz band, which is the primary reason for adding the 6 GHz band with Wi-Fi 6E.

Due to the variables of channel bandwidth, number of spatial streams and multi-user signaling mechanisms, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E are highly configurable. In general, the lower end of the throughput range is targeted for small handheld devices with limited battery capacity such as smartphones, the middle of the throughput range is targeted towards laptops, and the highest end of the throughput range is targeted at specialized and outdoor applications where there is less device density compared with indoors. The table below shows and example of Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6/6E configurations for targeting specific devices or applications.

Better Together But with Considerations

While many pit Wi-Fi and 5G against each other, the fact is that it is not one or the other-both technologies need to coexist to take full advantage of the digital world we live in. 5G will be needed for public cellular service that covers miles and supports emerging mobile technologies like self-driving cars and asset tracking of transportation fleets. Wi-Fi however is critical to providing higher-bandwidth access to LANs and the Internet in a local environment to support everything from business applications to premises-based IoT applications.

While 5G deployments will require edge data centers and denser small cell deployments, when it comes to deploying high-efficiency WAPs for Wi-Fi 6/6E in the enterprise space, there are several cabling considerations that have implications with respect to cabling infrastructure design. This includes cabling and connectivity performance to support capacity, cabling architecture for ample coverage and scalability, and proper support for remote power like power over Ethernet (PoE) to limit heat to build up in cable bundles and prevent damaging connecting hardware when unmating under remote powering current loads.

To learn more about Wi-Fi 6/6E and its cabling infrastructure considerations, download Siemon’s latest white paper, “Preparing for Wi-Fi 6E: Cabling Considerations for High Efficiency Wireless Access Point Connections.”

With the current COVID-19 pandemic, life has changed enormously over the course of the past couple of months. Just like us, we’re sure that many of you feel like you’re in the midst of what seems like a massive work-from-home experiment. In fact, these trying times are actually an opportunity for many companies around the world to realize the benefits of working from home, including a smaller carbon footprint with no commuting, lower operational costs, happier and more productive employees, less sickness, more time for exercise and self-care, and perhaps even a much-needed escape from office politics.

The biggest requirement for effectively working from home is being able to stay connected and having the bandwidth in place that enables ongoing fast and easy access to company VPNs and effective video conferencing and virtual meetings. If you’re finding downloads take much longer than they should, or that your fellow colleagues are only hearing every other word you say while on a Zoom call, we’ve got a few tips for you.

Verify Your Internet Speed

There are plenty of online network speed tests available that will tell you what you’re getting for upload and download speeds. Just Google “free Internet speed test” and you’ll come up with plenty. We recommend doing this a few times over the course of a day and taking an average as you might find that you’re getting faster speeds at off-peak hours.

Make sure you also know what speed you’re paying for from your service provider and understand that that it’s normal for your upload speeds from home to be a lot less than your download-since most of us pull down a lot more than we put up, the residential broadband model is asymmetric to keep up with demand. Also be aware that just because you’re paying for 300 Mb/s, doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. If you’re getting 225 Mb/s, you’re doing well. But if you’re only getting 10 Mb/s, it might be time to give your service provider a call.

Consider the Equipment

Often, it’s not the bandwidth coming into the home, but the actual equipment that’s the problem. Modems and routers provided by your service provider are often refurbished or aging, and it’s your right to ask for a replacement. If you have satellite, you can ask your service provider to switch the satellite from which your antenna receives signals. You may also want to consider moving the dish closer to the house and removing any surrounding shrubbery or other obstacles.

Your own Wi-Fi router could also be the issue. If your router is an older 802.11a/g type, you’re only going to get up to 54 Mb/s. Ideally for your home Wi-Fi, you want at least an 802.11n router that offers up to 450 Mb/s. But before you blame the service provider equipment or order an expensive new router from Amazon, first try resetting the equipment or updating the firmware. It could be a simple fix.

Pick the Right Band and Channel

802.n Wi-Fi routers operate in both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. If you have a larger home and need to transmit through multiple floors and walls, you want to select the 2.4 GHz band, but you’ll get faster speeds and better security if you choose 5 GHz. Try playing with both bands and see which one works best for working from home.

There are also different channels within each band. 2.4 GHz offers 14 transmission channels that overlap, which can cause data packets on nearby channels to interfere with each other and slow down your connection. If you’re limited to 2.4 GHz, try choosing channels 1, 6 or 11 as they tend to experience the least overlap. The 5 GHz band offers 23 non-overlapping channels, which minimizes interference with other users.

Identify the Other Users

Speaking of other users, consider that members of your household who are streaming Netflix or playing online videos could be part of your problem, and you may want to set some limits and timeframes to give you the most bandwidth during working hours.

You also want to make sure that you don’t have any unauthorized users taking advantage of your Wi-Fi. Selecting WPA2 security on your router and using a complex password can avoid little Billy next door from leeching off your Wi-Fi after he guessed that the password was your dog’s name.

Place It Right

If you have the latest equipment, selected the right band and channel, eliminated other users, and still don’t see the performance you need, it could be as simple as Wi-Fi router placement. If you have your router three rooms away from where you work, tucked into a lower cabinet, it simply may not be strong enough to reach you.

If possible, place your router up high away from walls and windows in a central location. Make sure to stay clear from interfering appliances such as microwaves and cordless phones, and if you have multiple antennas, try moving them in different directions to see what works best. If none of these solutions are possible, you may need to consider a Wi-Fi extender to help boost the signal for your working needs.

Take Care of Your People

While those of us working from home are doing our best to stay connected and stay healthy, as an employer, you also want to step up and take care of your people.

Make sure to equip your teams with the right technology and give them the IT support they need. That means making sure your VPN is up to snuff by keeping servers updated or deploying additional VPN servers to increase bandwidth. Consider staggering work hours so not everyone is logging on at the same time every day and encourage downloading of large documents and reuploading after working on them, rather than editing over the VPN. Some employers may even consider financially helping employees get the bandwidth they need from their service providers-especially for those that have lost a significant portion of household income.

And as managers, do your best to provide support to your team and understand that many of them are also now homeschooling children while trying to work from home. Be present and available during business hours, establish daily check-ins and consider a virtual team-building exercise. Suggest that your staff establish a designated workspace in a quiet, separate space of their home that keeps them from being distracted and encourage them to practice self-care like getting dressed, leaving the house for some fresh air, taking breaks and sticking to a set work schedule-just like they did when they came into the office every day.

Wi-Fi is now ubiquitous across all environments and vertical markets, and the demand for outdoor wireless access has increased significantly. Whether it’s a university, amusement park, stadium or resort, many enterprise businesses need to now deploy outdoor Wi-Fi to keep up with the demand. But there are some key considerations—not only must the wireless access points (WAPs) be outdoor rated to withstand the rigors of outside environments, but cables and connectivity also need to be protected from the elements. And then there’s the question of how best to deliver power, as well as other considerations like grounding, interference, throughput, coverage and security.

Let’s take a look at the various considerations for deploying outdoor WAPs mounted on the building exterior, poles or other external structures.

Cable Considerations

Indoor/outdoor cable can be used to connect outdoor WAPs mounted to the exterior of a building to networks installed within a building. However, if the WAP is mounted on a pole or other separate external structure that requires the cable to be deployed in a direct burial, lashed aerial or underground conduit application, the cable can be subjected to moisture, temperature extremes and/or UV radiation. This requires the use of outside plant (OSP) cable that must be installed within conduit or transitioned to indoor cable at the building entrance.

Distance is another consideration when it comes to selecting cable for your outdoor WAPs. Twisted-pair copper cable is limited to 100 meters per industry standards, but if the WAP is located further away, you’ll need to use optical fiber cable that can extend well beyond 100 meters (up to 10 km in fact, depending on the fiber type).

Connection Protection

Not only must the cable be protected from the elements, but so should the actual plugs and outlets. A WAP may have built-in weather-proof conduit that protects both the incoming cable and plug. Others may have a protective outlet that requires the use of a ruggedized plug with chemical-resistant thermoplastic plug housing and a quarter-turn bayonet-style mating to ensure an IP66/IP67-rated seal.

Also common with outdoor WAPs is the use of a protective metal gland that slides over the network cable before the cable is terminated to a plug. After the cable is plugged into the WAP, the metal gland is screwed into place on the WAP. Protective metal glands are ideal for use with field-terminated RJ45 plugs, but you want to make sure that the plug you choose is small enough to fit within the gland when it is mated.

Siemon’s Z-PLUG is the smallest field-terminated plug on the market—click HERE to read about its use with the protective metal gland for outdoor WAPs and the University of South Carolina.

Power and Grounding

Outdoor WAPs are often mounted nowhere near a local power source, but if local power cannot be provided or is cost prohibitive, you still need a way to power your WAP. Ideally your WAP supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) and can draw DCc power directly through the same copper cabling that connects it to the network. For PoE applications, and for general interference protection, shielded twisted-pair cabling is recommended. This will ensure a lower temperature rise when power is applied over the cable, which can especially be a concern in direct sunlight and warmer climates.

But what about extended distance scenarios where the WAP is connected via fiber optic cable that doesn’t have the ability to deliver PoE? That’s where hybrid power/fiber cable can be an ideal solution. Featuring a duplex fiber for data transmission along with insulated various gauges of copper conductors for power all within a single jacket, these cables can connect directly to devices that include a fiber port for data and power terminals for power. If the WAP doesn’t have a fiber data port, the hybrid cable can terminate to a PoE media converter placed in an outdoor-rated NEMA enclosure, which converts the optical signal and delivers both a data and PoE connection to the WAP using a copper patch cord.

You also need to consider lightning strikes, and outdoor WAPs should be properly grounded to prevent damage. Depending on the location and size of the WAP, it may need to be grounded to the mounting structure and the structure itself may need to be equipped with lightning protection. Surge protection should also be considered, and most PoE-enabled outdoor WAPs feature built-in dedicated surge protection to isolate and protect any inside network equipment. It’s important to refer to your WAP manufacturer’s guidelines for grounding.

Throughput Requirements

Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) is the latest Wi-Fi standard capable of achieving greater than 5 Gb/s throughput, up from Wi-Fi 5 (IEEE 802.11ac) at 1.3 Gb/s. For both Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6, industry standards recommend a minimum of 10 Gb/s capable balanced twisted-pair copper or optical fiber. The standards also recognize that the use of multiple horizontal links to a single WAP (link aggregation) may be required to support current and emerging WAP technologies. The primary requirements to meet the throughput for today’s Wi-Fi are as follows:

• A category 6A/class E_A connection is the only way to guarantee support for 1.3 Gb/s throughput for Wi-Fi 5 Wave 1 WAPs.
• Two category 6A/class E_A connections are the only way to support management, redundancy and link aggregation needed to achieve greater than 5 Gb/s throughput for Wi-Fi 6 Wave 1 WAPs, while ensuring support for greater than 10 Gb/s for future Wi-Fi deployments.
• A minimum 25 Gb/s capable fiber backbone is recommended to support Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 uplink capacity.

Additional Considerations

Not only should you follow your WAP manufacturer’s recommended installation instructions and industry standards, but you also want to make sure you have ample coverage. This depends on the amount of space you want to cover, obstacles, mounting location and the range of your WAP antennas.

When mounting your WAP, you may also want to consider security. It should be mounted high enough to keep people from tampering with or defacing the device, but in outdoor deployments you also want to make sure it is securely mounted to keep it from being dislodged by wind or other elements.

To learn more about Wi-Fi applications and deployment considerations, click HERE to download our free Wi-Fi Application & Product Guide.