The Wi-Fi Alliance has released version 802.11ah of its Wi-Fi standard, nicknamed HaLow (pronounced Hay-Low). Wi-Fi HaLow is designed for Internet of Things (IoT).
While current 802.11 Wi-Fi standards commonly operate in 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, the new 802.11ah HaLow standard was specifically created to work in lower bands, at 900Mhz, offering lower power consumption, boosting connectivity.
Wi-Fi HaLow’s range is nearly twice that of today’s Wi-Fi technology, and will not only be capable of transmitting signals further, but also provide connectivity in challenging environments with the ability to more easily penetrate walls or other barriers.
Wi-Fi Alliance said that the new Wifi standard being integrated into IoT (Internet of Things) products, example in the Smart Home (sensors, wearables, etc), connected car, and digital healthcare, as well as industrial, retail, agriculture, and Smart City environments. Wi-Fi HaLow will broadly adopt existing Wi-Fi protocols including multi-vendor interoperability, strong government-grade security, and easy setup.
“Wi-Fi HaLow is well suited to meet the unique needs of the Smart Home, Smart City, and industrial markets because of its ability to operate using very low power, penetrate through walls, and operate at significantly longer ranges than Wi-Fi today,” said Edgar Figueroa, President and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi HaLow expands the unmatched versatility of Wi-Fi to enable applications from small, battery-operated wearable devices to large-scale industrial facility deployments – and everything in between.”
Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit industry association that set the standards for WiFi. More than 6.8 billion devices have Wifi capabilities today including PCs, laptops and smartphones.
[Source]– Wi-Fi Alliance
