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Wi-Fi HaLow and the Evolution of the Smart Home
- By Michael De Nil
- May 05, 2023
From those early, high-pitched days of dial up, to the impending arrival of Wi-Fi 7, connectivity is changing… particularly in the Wi-Fi department.
Since its debut in 1997, the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard has steadily improved to deliver higher bandwidth, maximum throughput and more frequency bands. As a result, Wi-Fi is one of many wireless protocols used extensively across the globe, embraced by consumers and enterprises alike. It has become a key standard for driving innovation, business, education and healthcare and is the foundation for countless IoT applications including smart homes, wearables, smart factories, building automation, smart city infrastructure and more.
With such wide adoption comes a new and unique set of challenges including demand for ultra-low power, long-reach, and secure connections for IoT applications. The Wi-Fi Alliance’s introduction of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow product certification program in 2021, was a major inflection point for IoT ecosystems, providing a new protocol alternative for smart home devices.
Wi-Fi HaLow a Game Changer for the Smart Home
Wi-Fi HaLow is a game changer for IoT applications that require a combination of long reach, low power, high data rates, high network capacity, and advanced security. This next-generation Wi-Fi protocol is poised to expand IoT connectivity options for consumers looking to manage their IoT devices and smart home networks. Wi-Fi HaLow will prove similarly beneficial to service providers. Here are several trends we can expect to see soon.
Wi-Fi 7 mesh access points with Wi-Fi HaLow. Wi-Fi provides reliable connectivity for devices near the router, even for bandwidth-hungry use cases like video conferencing, gaming, and virtual reality. One challenge, particularly for larger homes is full-property coverage.
Today’s best Wi-Fi 6E mesh access points struggle to reach locations outside of the home such as front gates, secondary dwellings, and outdoor video cameras. In these scenarios, Wi-Fi HaLow can be used as a longer-range backup link to extend the range of mesh access points.
Many mesh routers shipping today are reconfigured multiple times a day, and many use the same radio link for data communication and configuration. A key benefit of using a separate radio, such as Wi-Fi HaLow, is it can simplify configuration and improve network reliability.
Wireless access points can extend a network’s wireless coverage and increase the number of users that can connect to the internet. Adding Wi-Fi HaLow to access points will open possibilities to connect hundreds and even thousands of Wi-Fi HaLow-enabled IoT devices and create networks that can connect to anything across long distances.
As the market for low-power, long-reach IoT devices continues to expand, the demand for Wi-Fi HaLow-enabled access points will grow with it. As a result, we can expect leading service providers to begin adding Wi-Fi HaLow radios to their hub and access point products targeting home consumers.