Tammy Parker at FierceWirelessTechtoday reports on how "researchers are busily working on 802.11ax, a follow-on technology for 802.11ac Wi-Fi" that uses developing MIMO-OFDA signaling technology to potentially deliver Gigabit-speed connections to individual devices, in addition to improving overall network capacity.
Related story: WLAN infrastructure sales sputter as 802.11ac takes hold
The report notes how the board of the IEEE officially approved the 802.11ax task group in March, and how operators, chip vendors, OEMs and universities have since jumped on-board, with a primary goal being a four-fold improvement in data speed to devices used in dense deployment scenarios.
Parker's reporting continues, "The 802.11ax standard should be complete in July 2018. However, ratification of the standard is not expected before March 2019, Greg Ennis, the Wi-Fi Alliance's vice president of technology, told PCWorld. Nonetheless, Ennis predicts that products based on a draft of the standard will likely reach the market as early as 2016, as happened with draft 802.11n and draft 802.11ac products as well."
Ericsson and BelAir Networks are noted in the reporting as two of the new technology's early boosters.
Related product: Dual-polarity 2.4/5 GHz flat panel antennas offer ubiquitous frequency support