Wi-Fi For The Ages

Bart Giordano, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Ruckus Networks

- Zachary Chan 

2019 is the 20th anniversary of Wi-Fi. What do you think is Wi-Fi’s biggest breakthrough?

I’d say the biggest breakthrough for Wi-Fi is its ubiquity, right? I’d watch people walk into a new venue, and the first thing they do? They’re on their phone; they’re looking for the Wi-Fi. So there’ve been many different wireless technologies that have promised to be that next great thing, like ultra wideband or WiMax. And for a variety of reasons, good technologies don’t always turn into good products. But Wi-Fi has dominated for the last decade.

What’s the big deal with 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi 6 as it is now called? Isn’t it just another speed bump?

So it is faster, right. But I think the real value in Wi-Fi 6 is around the ability to handle very dense client environments. A new student coming into a campus has anywhere between three to five devices that they bring with them all connected wirelessly. Coupled with other IoT and media streaming devices, the capacity of networks has to improve dramatically to be able to maintain consistent user experience.