The Wi-Fi Alliance is breaking new ground with the launch of what it terms a low power Wi-Fi solution called Wi-Fi HaLow. The Alliance says the solution will utilize spectrum frequencies below 900 MHz to enable low power connectivity, which it said will nearly double the range of traditional Wi-Fi that relies on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrum bands, as well as provide a more robust connection in difficult-to-penetrate environments.
Wi-Fi HaLow is expected to have a wide range of IoT applications from smart homes, connected cars, industrial “Internet of Things” and wearables, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance.
“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,” explained 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.”
The technology is said to provide multi-vendor interoperability by using existing Wi-Fi protocols to make it compatible with all Wi-Fi Alliance Certified products. The Alliance says it will provide the same government-grade security and easy setup of current Wi-Fi solutions.
Connection to the cloud will also be an important feature of the solution, which supports IP-based connectivity. Cloud capability will be key to the future growth of dense device deployments associated with IoT.
The Wi-Fi Alliance believes this is another example of Wi-Fi’s expanding portfolio of use cases. In addition to the launch of Wi-Fi HaLow, the organization recently announced a new membership category to extend connectivity to many traditionally low-tech devices such as vacuum cleaners and door knobs.
