Wi-Fi Technology, Standards,andEvolution

Dr. Srikanth Subramanian

CKO, Nanocell Networks

www.nanocellnetworks.com

Wi-Fi present in all

laptops/APs

Wi-Fi in Phones and tablets

Wi-Fi's next wave –presence in all CE devices

(IOT)

Wi-Fi Traffic trends

Wi-Fi – A Wireless Success Story

Source: Cisco

0

50

100

2010 2015 2018Wi-Fi Wired

perc

enta

ge Significant

traffic to come from

non-computing

devices

Wi-Fi Calling

2.5 GHz

2.4 GHz

4.9 GHz

5.8 GHz

5.0 GHz

60 GHz

Frequency (GHz)

Most popular Wi-Fi band

Graduallybecoming

mainstream

Japan specific

Future band

Wi-Fi – RF Bands

Unlicensed band in most important

markets

Popular Bluetooth

band

More PAN and video centric

than LAN

Sub 1GHz

3.65

GHz

Outdoor use in some countriesSensor/

smart grid

Wi-Fi Network Types

Infrastructure Network

Ad-hoc Networks

802.11 ad-hoc

Wi-Fi Direct

• Used in homes, offices & hotspots

• Used in some gaming devices

Mesh Networks

• Used in wide-area/large campus deployments

• Wi-Fi alliance initiative for easy to use peer-to-peer connections

Max. channel bandwidth

22 MHz 20 MHz20 MHz40 MHz

80 MHz (160 MHz optional)

1.8 GHz

802.11b(1999)

802.11a(1999)

802.11g(2003)

802.11n(2009)

802.11ac(2013E)

802.11ad

11 Mbps 54 Mbps 54 Mbps

600 Mbps

Upto 7 GbpsUp to

7 Gbps

2.4 GHz

5 GHz

2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz

5 GHz 5 GHz

60 GHz

Max. PHY layer Data rate

Spectrum

Technology DSSS (CCK)

OFDM OFDMMIMO + OFDM

MIMO (SU/MU) + OFDM

Beam forming+SC/OFDM

Wi-Fi Technology Evolution – Part 1 (PHY)

FHSS/DSSS

22 MHz

2 Mbps

2.4 GHz

802.11(1997)

IEEE Standard

• Backward compatibility is always kept in perspective

Features

Efficiency 802.11n

Roaming 802.11r

Management 802.11k/v

Security 802.11i

External networks 802.11 u

QoS

802.11e

Wi-Fi Technology Evolutions – Part 2 (MAC)

• Many extensions have beenincorporated in 802.11 main standard.

• Support in products is not universal

for all extensions.

Wi-Fi Deployments

Homes

Hotspots

Peer to peer

Offices

11a/b/g/n AP11b/g client

11n client

Multiband Wi-Fi

Carrier enabled

Wi-Fi and IoT

Wi-Fi AP present in homes , hotspot, retail ,enterprise

etc.

Add Wi-Fi/Retro fit

Wi-Fi

People comfortable with

Wi-Fi

Cost effective solutions available

Power not a big issue in some cases

Reliable connection to Internet

Planned Wi-Fi deployments have

good coverage New sub 1GHz solution(Wi-Fi HaLow) announced for

low-power devices

Wi-Fi calling - Motivation?

Internet

PSTNAP

eNB/NB/BTSWi-Fi and cellularradios present

Roaming charges on cellular leads to users using OTT apps (skype/viberover Wi-Fi)

• Lots of voice calls made from indoor locations

• Poor signal in many indoor locations

Cannot use the cellular phone number

Wi-Fi calling

Internet

Core Network

AP

eNB/NB/BTS

• Use of Wi-Fi for calling /receiving using phone credentials (No apps)

Handover to cellular to be taken care

• Any AP which allows access OK

Operator Supported

PSTN

WiFi Aware ™

• App to get alerts

• Alerts about service

• No connection for alert

• Beacon like alerts

• If interested in service connections can be established

WFA certification program based on neighbor awareness networking

• Power efficiency kept in perspective

Service Providers and Unlicensed Spectrum - approaches

Wi-Fi OffloadLTE-U/

LAA/MuLTEfire

LTE Wi-FIAggregation

(LWA)

LTE Wi-FIaggregation with

IPSEC(LWIP)

Not a lot of momentu

m but some

deployments

happening

Lots of interest

from carriers

Wi-Fi camp’s response to LTE-unlicensed approaches

5 GHz spectrum scene in near future

100

104

108

112

116

120

124

128

132

136

140

144

36

40

44

48 52

56

60

64

20 MHz40 MHz80 MHz

160 MHz

68

72

76

80 84

88

92

96

149

153

157

161

165

169

173

177

181

20 MHz40 MHz80 MHz

160 MHz

20 MHz40 MHz80 MHz

160 MHz

5170 MHz 5350 MHz

5825 MHz

5925 MHz5470 MHz 5725 MHz

5250 MHz

New Band

Old Band

US

Europe

India

China20 MHz40 MHz80 MHz

160 MHz

Wi-Fi Challenges and New Initiatives

• Real-life Wi-Fi traffic ..difficult to aggregate in high-density scenarios

• Advances of 802.11 PHY. are

practically useless.. We are

benefitting by better radio and CPUs in products

802.11 – The Real Story !!

Wi-Fi Sucks !!

Source: Aruba Networks

New Standard 802.11ax

• Majority of deployments will evolve towards high density scenarios in the near future..

• To increase the real world throughputachieved by users.

• Amendment to 802.11 for operations in between 1 to 6GHz frequency bands.

• Focus primarily on 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

• To improve power efficiency for the battery powered devices.

PAR aims for 4 times higher average

throughput at MAC in a dense Wi-Fi

environment than previous generation..5-

10 times likely

802.11ax – Key technologies and approaches

AP A-MPDU to STA2 BlkAck

BlkAck

DL A-MPDU

Trigger

Trigger

TriggerSTA3 A-MPDU to AP

STA2 A-MPDU to APSTA1 A-MPDU to AP

AP A-MPDU to STA3

AP A-MPDU to STA1

BlkAck

BlkAck

BlkAck

UL A-MPDUTrigger

TriggerAP A-MPDU to STA4

STA5 A-MPDU to AP

STA4 A-MPDU to AP BlkAck

STA6 A-MPDU to AP

BlkAck

BlkAck

BlkAck

BlkAck

RaiesdCCAmax DynamicValue

Dynamic threshold; plus

power control..goodcoexistence

Spatial reuse

Multiuser Transmission; OFDMA, MU-MIMO

LTE and Wi-Fi together – LWA and LWIP

19

EPC

LTE R13 specifications completed

• Carrier grade AP• Needs interface to

communicate with LTE eNB

Licensed Band

Unlicensed Band

Traffic through both LTE and

Wi-FiAggregating

Wi-Fi and LTE @ radio level

Both co-located and

non co-located cases of eNB and

Wi-Fi AP considered

Future Trends in Wi-Fi

Home and

Internet access

2.4 & 5 GHz Wi-Fi

Enterprise network access

Interactions with cellular

Peer-to-peer

access

Displays, Set top boxes

Adopt higher

speed Wi-Fi

More usage of

5 GHz Wi-Fi

Smooth interaction with carrier

Seamless transfer

60 GHz Wi-Fi usage

Ripe for Innovation; Wi-Fi

Aware

Potential Bluetooth

replacement

Wi-Fi Calling

LWA and LWIP

Govt. Initiatives in Wi-Fi – How to use it?