Difference between 5G Vs WiFi 6 : Is 5G better than WiFi
As wireless technologies evolve, 5G and WiFi 6 have emerged as game changers in the connectivity landscape. But what sets them apart? This article delves into the key differences between 5G and WiFi 6, comparing their speed, range, applications and more. Whether you're setting up a smart home or seeking seamless mobile connectivity, understanding these distinctions can help you make the right choice.
5G is successor to 4G LTE cellular technology where as WiFi 6 is successor to 11 ac technology. Cellular technologies from 1G to 5G follows 3GPP specifications. WiFi technologies follow IEEE 802.11 WLAN PHY/MAC specifications.
5G is a cellular network technology that enables ultra-fast mobile connectivity, supporting wide area coverage and high mobility. WiFi 6, the latest iteration of WiFi technology, offers improved speed, efficiency and capacity for local wireless networks, making it perfect for home or office environments.
What is 5G technology ?
5G technology has been developed as per 3GPP Rel. 15 and beyond. The 5G NR (New Radio) initial specifications have been finalized by 3GPP in december 2017. 5G has been deployed initially as non-standalone mode and later as standalone. In non-standalone mode, control mechanism is leveraged using existing 4G LTE network and data transfer takes place using 5G network infrastructure. In standalone mode, both control and data mechanisms are handled by 5G network itself without any dependancy on legacy 4G LTE network.
The figure depicts overall network architecture of 5G NR system. As shown it consists of UE (User Equipment), NG-RAN (Radio Access Network) and 5G Core. Refer 5G network architecture➤ which describes 5G network elements and their interfaces.
5G wireless system supports different frequency bands below 6 GHz and above 6 GHz in mmwave range. It supports higher bandwidth (~ 1Gbps or higher), low end to end latency (~ 1-5 ms) and higher data rates (Peak : 1-10 Gbps, Cell Edge: 100 Mbps).
Advantages of 5G
Following are the benefits of 5G cellular system.
1. 5G supports excellent mobility due to its roaming support.
2. During the event of data congestion due to increased number of subscribers,
5G can offload traffic to indoor wifi networks.
3. 5G offers 10x improvement in throughput, 10x reduction in latency,
10x improvement in connection density, 3x improvement in spectrum efficiency and
100x improvement in traffic capacity and network efficiency.
4. Dynamic beamforming feature which helps in overcoming pathloss at higher mmwave frequencies.
5. Higher bandwidth and data rates can be achieved using carrier aggregation and massive MIMO.
Refer drawbacks or disadvantages of 5G technology >>.
What is WiFi 6 ?
It is the 6th generation of wifi technology which is based on recent IEEE 802.11ax specifications. WiFi is also called as WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network). In order to establish wifi 6 link, one requires wifi 6 compliant routers.
As shown in the WLAN architecture, wifi-6 router is connected with internet using broadband connection. All the wifi 6 mobile phones and other compliant devices connect with wifi-6 router.
The figure depicts some of the advanced features introduced in the WiFi6 system. The features are as follows.
• MU-MIMO • beamforming• 1024-QAM modulation• longer size OFDM symbol
• higher number of spatial streams (up to 8)• Uplink resource scheduling without any contention unlike 802.11ac etc.
• BSS coloring• OFDMA• longer battery life etc.
Advantage of WiFi 6
Following are the benefits of WiFi 6 system.
1. WiFi 6 provides 40% higher peak data rates and 4x improvement in network efficiency.
2. WiFi 6 based scheduling mechanism helps to reduce overhead and latency. Moreover multiple users can transmit simultaneously.
3. WiFi 6 client devices consume less power due to use of TWT (Target Wake Time) feature
and hence it enhances battery life.
4. WiFi 6 offers higher security due to use of WPA3 protocol.
5. WiFi 6 uses long symbol duration outdoors and short symbol duration indoors.
6. Co-channel interference is mitigated due to use of BSS color coding.
➨Refer drawbacks or disadvantages of WiFi 6 technology >>.
Difference between 5G and WiFi 6
Following table comparison between 5G and wifi 6 on various parameters.
| Specifications | 5G | WiFi 6 |
|---|---|---|
| • Technology | Cellular | WLAN |
| • Standard | 3GPP Rel. 15 and beyond | IEEE 802.11ax |
| • Operating frequency | Sub 1 GHz, 1 to 6 GHz, Greater than 6 GHz in millimeter wave range at 28 GHz and 40 GHz | 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz both |
| • Spectrum | Licensed | Unlicensed |
| • Speed | Greater than 1 Gbps | Higher than 5G, About 600 Mbps with 80MHz/1 SS, About 9.6 Gbps with 160 MHz/8SS (11ac version gives about 7 Gbps with 160 MHz, 8 SS). |
| • Range | 5G small cells support 10-100 meters range based on their types such as femtocell, pico cell and microcell. 5G mmwave base station covers 2 meters (in indoor) and 300 meters (in outdoor). | Greater than 100 meters, Beamforming feature improves range by 4 times than 802.11ac (i.e. wifi5) version. |
| • Maturity of the technology and its penetration | It is at nascent stages and will take few years to reach the current stage of 4G LTE deployments | It has already been matured and has deep penetration into our homes, enterprises, residential communities and commercial establishments |
| • Cost of deployment | Expensive | Cheaper |
| • IT administrators | Not required | Required as wifi networks are installed and managed by them |
| • Security | 5G cellular connections are more secure compare to unknown wifi connections. 5G users are exposed to security risks during process called wifi offloading. 5G will be as secure as 4G LTE today. 5G supports multiple authentication and key management features. | WiFi 6 supports WPA3 security protocols to provide high security. |
| • Mobility | Higher | Lower than 5G |
| • Application | Outdoors | Indoors |
Conclusion
While 5G and WiFi 6 both enhance connectivity, their strengths lie in different areas.
5G offers expansive mobility and high speed internet on the go, while WiFi 6 provides efficient and reliable connectivity in local environments.
By evaluating your specific requirements, you can decide which technology is better for your need.
Both 5G and WiFi 6 have their unique features and hence they are going to exist together.
➨Refer 5G tutorial and
WiFi 6 tutorial for more information.
5G cellular resources
WiFi 6 Resources
advantages and disadvantages of 802.11ax (WiFi 6)
BSS coloring in 11ax
RU in 802.11ax
MU-OFDMA in 802.11ax
MU-MIMO in 802.11ax
Difference between 802.11ac Wave1 and Wave2
Difference between 802.11n,11ac,11ad
WLAN 802.11ac tutorial
WLAN 802.11ax tutorial
WLAN 802.11ac frame structure
WLAN 802.11ac Physical Layer
802.11ac MAC Layer
802.11ax basics
WLAN 11a,11b,11n,11ac frame structures