The expansion of wireless spectrum technologies is affording new opportunities for growth. Existing areas are becoming more crowded as devices become more prevalent. This includes not only user devices but Internet of Things (IoT) as well. In this episode of the Tech Field Day Podcast, Tom Hollingsworth is joined by Cheryl Connell, Ron Westfall, and Jason Beshara as they discuss how the growth of IoT has caused contention in the current Wi-Fi spaces. They also discuss how the opening of the 6 GHz spectrum band has the potential to create more room for growth, provided device manufacturers adopt these new areas with the guidelines the bring.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | Amazon Music | YouTube Music | Audio
6 GHz Will Help IoT Adoption
One thing that has caused significant issues with adoption today is the fact that Wi-Fi radios are often one of the most economical parts of the device. Some newer tablets and laptops have cutting edge cards that operate at peak performance. However, the resource budgets for IoT devices often dictate less capable radio cards. Sometimes that happens because the CPU on the device isn’t capable of doing enough calculations to provide higher throughput. In other cases it is because the cost for a more capable card would increase the manufacturing cost of the device and reduce the operating profit for making thousands of them. Opportunity costs spare no one.
Another consideration is that crowded spectrums also create issues for operations that could have liability impacts for enterprises. IoT is more than thermostats and intelligent appliances. The term also applies to medical devices and safety sensors. These devices need to have clear ways to communicate and cannot afford to face contention in the air. That means creating new designs that use 6 GHz radios is a must, as is the need for medical and safety organizations to deploy proactively to support these devices right away.
Lastly, the guests discuss how to best prepare for these new deployments and understand the technologies behind them. There will always be challenges and external contractors and tenants will create situations that you must address. Investigation and planning now will prevent the kinds of challenges that could derail upgrade efforts in the near future.
Podcast Information:
Tom Hollingsworth is the Networking Analyst for The Futurum Group and Event Lead for Tech Field Day. You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn and X/Twitter. Find out more on his blog or on the Tech Field Day website.
Ron Westfall is The Research Director at The Futurum Group specializing in Digital Transformation, 5G, AI, Security, Cloud Computing, IoT and Data Center as well as the host of 5G Factor Webcast. You can connect with Ron on LinkedIn and on X/Twitter and see his work on The Futurum Group’s website.
Cheryl Connell is a Senior Wireless Administrator at Dalhousie University. You can connect with Cheryl on X/Twitter, on Bluesky, and on LinkedIn. Learn more about Cheryl on her website.
Jason Beshara is a Mobility Solutions Architect and Wi-Fi expert. You can connect with Jason on X/Twitter or on LinkedIn. Learn more about Jason on his personal website.
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Tech Field Day Podcast. If you enjoyed the discussion, please remember to subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast application so you don’t miss an episode and do give us a rating and a review. This podcast was brought to you by Tech Field Day, home of IT experts from across the enterprise, now part of The Futurum Group.
