Wi-Fi 6 and the End of the Buffer

Considering upgrading to Optimum WiFi 6?

Admit it, we have all been there, you're streaming a movie, playing an online game, on a video call with work and you get that annoyng little spinning blue circle. The dreaded buffering signal that means your Internet connection is too slow to handle all the devices accessing your Wi-Fi router at once.

Combating the buffer requires a Wi-Fi router able to handle numerous devices at any one time. Let's explain, the number of devices that communicate with a router at any one time can slow down the connection speed to the Internet, therefore, the more devices demanding Wi-Fi from your router the slower the connection. Coming to the rescue is Wi-Fi 6 that should make buffering a thing of the past, with the capability of reaching Internet speeds of 9.6GBs. Wi-Fi 6 will not increase the speed of each device but rather will allow all the devices to connect to the router without slowing down or clogging your Internet network.

Wi-Fi 6 is also known as 802.11ax and is the latest generation of Wi-Fi technology focusing on efficiency and performance. It is all about better and more efficient use of the existing radio frequency medium and handles devices more efficiently with a channel-sharing capability promising true multi-user communications on both the downlink and uplink along with a new power-saving mechanism that schedules wake-times to improve the device's battery life.

Wi-Fi connected devices continue to grow and the average home has grown from 10 devices to approximately 50 or more. With the proliferation of Smart Home devices and Internet of Things (IOT) applications, every Wi-Fi-connected thermostat, door lock, appliance or camera will be a drain on your router's bandwidth. Our Smart Wi-Fi 6 router is designed to handle an increase in devices without negatively impacting your Wi-Fi speeds resulting in uninterrupted connection to your thermostat, door lock, and security cameras, while also maintaining a smooth streaming experience, effective online game playing and more for your home network.

Optimum’s Smart Wi-Fi 6 router is the next evolution of wireless technology delivering a supercharged wireless experience with greater coverage and increased speed over an older generation Wi-Fi 5 router.

The short answer is a resounding "yes" if your current router is more than three years old or you have more than 10 devices using the current router to access the Internet. There are other reasons to upgrade to a Wi-Fi 6 router such as:

• Better Security: Wi-Fi 6 routers have built-in support for WPA3, the latest wireless encryption standard. This makes it harder for hackers to access your private data.

• Extended Battery Life: Wi-Fi 6 uses Target Wake Time (TWT) allowing your devices to determine when they will ‘wake up’ and begin sending/receiving data. This will extend the battery life of smartphones, tablets, and smart-home devices such as thermostats, security cameras, video doorbells and more.

• Network Congestion Relief: A Wi-Fi 6 router attempts to relieve network congestion, provide greater device capacity, and reduce device battery consumption. This is accomplished using OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) modulation, this allows up to 30 devices to share a channel which improves efficiency, boosts overall capacity and reduces latency.

• Wi-Fi 6 supported devices: After routers were upgraded to Wi-Fi 6, smartphones became one of the first devices to support Wi-Fi 6. Samsung, Apple, and LG are some of the smartphones that support the new technology. Laptop companies are churning out compatible new laptops such as Dell, Asus, HP, Lenovo and more. While most smart home devices (thermostat, security camera, video doorbells, etc.) have not been upgraded to Wi-Fi 6, the router will be able to handle the bandwidth needed for all the devices on the home network.

Optimum’s Smart Wi-Fi 6 is built to a greater network capacity, allowing you to pass data to your home devices quickly and efficiently. Additionally, the faster speeds for all your devices will provide less lag time and latency, allowing you to stream your videos, have a video call and provide a better online gaming experience without suffering the dreaded spinning blue circle of death.

Ready to switch to Optimum?