Wi-Fi 8 aims to shift the connectivity from “best-effort” to guaranteed, predictable and reliable wireless connections.
Butler notes that in automated warehouses, myriad sensors and robots require a stable connection to prevent costly downtime.
“Being able to ensure high reliability in a very complex Wi-Fi environment becomes really important for organizations that are running these highly automated systems,” he says. “And if those systems go down even for seconds or minutes, it’s lost revenue for these companies.”
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Multi-AP Coordination Solves the ‘Edge of Cell’ Problem
A standout feature of Wi-Fi 8 is its movement toward “cellularlike” orchestrated management by coordinating multiple access points.
Connected devices on factory floors, for example, may be switching from one AP to another, Butler says. “Ensuring that coordination across the APs becomes more important,” he says. “And then, also ensuring that the connection between those devices and the individual APs is optimized through things like multilink operation becomes critically important.”
Another key feature is Coordinated Multipoint, which allows a device to connect to multiple APs simultaneously rather than just one.
This shift addresses the “edge of cell” problem where performance typically plunges as a user moves through a building, Butler explains. This is especially true in dense environments such as stadiums or transit hubs where thousands of users are moving across an area at once.
While the formalization of the standard is about 18 months away, IT leaders should start thinking about their architecture today. Butler suggests that planning should extend beyond APs to back-end infrastructure.
“Ensure that you have adequate speeds for the access layer of the Ethernet switches,” Butler advises. He also notes the importance of checking power capabilities and cabling to support enhanced features. “You want to make sure that all of the other parts of your infrastructure would be ready for that Wi-Fi access point when it does become available.”
