New IEEE 802.11™ Study and Topic Interest Groups Launched to Advance Ongoing Innovation Around ‘Wi-Fi®’ Standard

PISCATAWAY, NJ, 9 October 2018 —  IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) today announced the formation of a study group and topic interest group focused on advancing the technology and deployment of the IEEE 802.11™ standard, commonly referred to as “Wi-Fi^®.” The groups are inviting stakeholder participation from around the world in their respective areas of focus: extremely high throughput and real-time applications.

The IEEE 802.11 Extremely High Throughput Study Group has been established to initiate discussion on new IEEE 802.11 features for bands between 1 and 7.125 GHz. The group is identifying requirements for a possible amendment to IEEE 802.11 that would increase peak throughput to support demanding applications such as video over wireless local area networks (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.”

The IEEE 802.11 Real Time Applications Topic Interest Group is quantifying performance lags and stability issues that have been observed with real-time applications such as mobile and multiplayer games, robotics and industrial automation, as well as the range of mechanisms in the industry to address those 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.”

For more information, visit the landing pages of the IEEE 802.11 Extremely High Throughput Study Group and the IEEE 802.11 Real Time Applications Topic Interest Group.

IEEE 802.11 defines the technology for the world’s premier WLAN products. IEEE 802.11-based products are often branded as “Wi-Fi” in the market. IEEE 802.11 standards underpin wireless networking applications around the world, such as wireless access to the internet from offices, homes, airports, hotels, restaurants, trains and aircraft. IEEE 802.11’s relevance continues to expand with the emergence of new applications, such as the smart grid, wireless docking and the Internet of Things. For more information about the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Working Group, please visit the working group’s landing page.

To learn more about IEEE SA or about any of its many market-driven initiatives, visit us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn, or on the Beyond Standards Blog.

IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) is a collaborative organization where innovators raise the world’s standards for technology. IEEE SA provides a globally open, consensus-building environment and platform that empowers people to work together in the development of leading-edge, market-relevant technology standards, and industry solutions shaping a better, safer and sustainable world. For more information, visit https://standards-qa21.ieee.org.

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more at https://www.ieee.org.