IEEE 802.11 study and topic interest groups investigate next steps for Wi-Fi

The IEEE has formed a study group and topic interest group to plot the next steps for the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. The study group will focus on improving Wi-Fi peak performance, while the topic interest group is looking for input on where new Wi-Fi specifications might be needed.

The study group, officially the IEEE 802.11 Extremely High Throughput Study Group, will look at new features for bands between 1 and 7.125 GHz. The group’s work could lead to an amendment to IEEE 802.11 that would increase peak throughput in response to the demands of such applications as video over wireless LANs (WLANs), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR).

“We are seeking stakeholders throughout the IEEE 802.11 ecosystem to share their experiences with the standard and needs for features such as more spatial streams, higher bandwidth, multi-AP (access point) techniques and multiband switching, aggregation and operation,” said Michael Montemurro, chair of the IEEE 802.11 Extremely High Throughput Study Group. “We envision a rapidly paced effort over the next six to nine months, which we hope will bring into clear definition the most important requirements to be addressed in accelerated development of a possible future amendment to the IEEE 802.11 base standard.”

Meanwhile, the IEEE 802.11 Real Time Applications Topic Interest Group is investigating performance and stability shortfalls reported in the support of real-time applications such as mobile and multiplayer games, robotics, and industrial automation. It’s also looking into what might be available to address such issues. The group is working to document usage models and requirements metrics for real-time applications.

“Immersive gaming, for example, is very latency sensitive and requires a quick turnaround on packets for users to enjoy a high-quality experience. Jitter, packet loss, and what’s going on throughout the network can have a large impact on these real-time applications, which may have only moderate bandwidth requirements but have very low tolerance for latency,” said Allan Jones, chair of the IEEE 802.11 Real Time Applications Topic Interest Group. “What we’re trying to do in our group is define more specifically what these requirements are for this particular category of applications, toward the goal of informing ongoing IEEE 802.11 innovation.”

More information is available on the landing pages of the IEEE 802.11 Extremely High Throughput Study Group and the IEEE 802.11 Real Time Applications Topic Interest Group.

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