It seems obvious: Wi-Fi already connects most gadgets in your home. So why wouldn’t it connect your smart home (Internet of Things – IoT) gadgets, too? But while it sounds obvious, the companies making these connected gadgets have been reluctant to support Wi-Fi. That’s because Wi-Fi requires a lot of power, and that’s a huge problem for any device that needs to be tiny, cheap, and able to run on a single charge for months or even years at a time.
So now, the group behind Wi-Fi (the Wi-Fi Alliance) is doing something about it. It’s just announced a new type of Wi-Fi officially dubbed 802.11ah "HaLow" (pronounced “halo”).
HaLow devices will operate on the unlicensed 900 megahertz band, which is said to offer almost twice the range of standard 2.4 gigahertz Wi-Fi networks you’ve likely got at home, and can more easily penetrate thick and layered walls. Perhaps most significantly, HaLow uses dramatically less power than conventional Wi-Fi — an important trait for connected thermostats, motion sensors, and locks that depend on compact batteries for power.
HaLow’s low power requirements are thanks to the way it operates. It doesn’t transfer data quickly, instead sending data in periodic, concentrated bursts. Device makers can up the speed and frequency of transfer, but at the cost of increased battery usage. HaLow’s comparative efficiency has the Wi-Fi Alliance envisioning use cases far beyond smart home appliances and security cameras. Eventually, the alliance sees the new wireless spec supplanting, or at least complementing, Bluetooth in wearables such as fitness trackers and smartwatches.
HaLow’s rollout will likely be prolonged — the Wi-Fi Alliance won’t begin certifying HaLow products until sometime in 2018 — but when products do begin to hit store shelves, most will be tri-band, leveraging the newly designated 900MHz spectrum but retaining support for existing 2.5GHz and 5GHz access points. But compatibility’s a one-way street — laptops and smartphones with current-generation networking chips won’t interface.
Despite what’s likely to be a slow rollout and the need for updated chips, Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Edgar Figueroa is convinced that HaLow, just like the many wireless standards that the consortium’s approved before it, will one day reach ubiquity. “HaLow is well suited to meet the unique needs of the smart home, smart city, and industrial markets,” he said in a statement. “HaLow expands the unmatched versatility of Wi-Fi to enable applications from small devices to large-scale industrial facility deployments and everything in between.”
There's no indication yet of when the first 802.11ah devices might begin to hit retail.
So now, the group behind Wi-Fi (the Wi-Fi Alliance) is doing something about it. It’s just announced a new type of Wi-Fi officially dubbed 802.11ah "HaLow" (pronounced “halo”).
HaLow devices will operate on the unlicensed 900 megahertz band, which is said to offer almost twice the range of standard 2.4 gigahertz Wi-Fi networks you’ve likely got at home, and can more easily penetrate thick and layered walls. Perhaps most significantly, HaLow uses dramatically less power than conventional Wi-Fi — an important trait for connected thermostats, motion sensors, and locks that depend on compact batteries for power.
HaLow’s low power requirements are thanks to the way it operates. It doesn’t transfer data quickly, instead sending data in periodic, concentrated bursts. Device makers can up the speed and frequency of transfer, but at the cost of increased battery usage. HaLow’s comparative efficiency has the Wi-Fi Alliance envisioning use cases far beyond smart home appliances and security cameras. Eventually, the alliance sees the new wireless spec supplanting, or at least complementing, Bluetooth in wearables such as fitness trackers and smartwatches.
HaLow’s rollout will likely be prolonged — the Wi-Fi Alliance won’t begin certifying HaLow products until sometime in 2018 — but when products do begin to hit store shelves, most will be tri-band, leveraging the newly designated 900MHz spectrum but retaining support for existing 2.5GHz and 5GHz access points. But compatibility’s a one-way street — laptops and smartphones with current-generation networking chips won’t interface.
Despite what’s likely to be a slow rollout and the need for updated chips, Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Edgar Figueroa is convinced that HaLow, just like the many wireless standards that the consortium’s approved before it, will one day reach ubiquity. “HaLow is well suited to meet the unique needs of the smart home, smart city, and industrial markets,” he said in a statement. “HaLow expands the unmatched versatility of Wi-Fi to enable applications from small devices to large-scale industrial facility deployments and everything in between.”
There's no indication yet of when the first 802.11ah devices might begin to hit retail.
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