UL debuts Wi-Fi 6E testing services in Europe

UL this month announced that it has begun to offer Wi-Fi 6E testing capabilities to meet the regulatory requirements for U.S. and Europe at multiple European sites. UL says its laboratories in Basingstoke, England and Stuttgart, Germany are the first and only Wi-Fi 6E testing facilities in Europe and address the immediate demand for Wi-Fi 6E wireless testing and certification services.

The facilities offer start-ups, scaling businesses and large corporations state-of-the art technology and a comprehensive service solution, including certifications, to meet market regulatory requirements around the world for the smooth introduction of Wi-Fi 6E-enabled products.

UL says its Wi-Fi 6E services, supported by the latest equipment and a bespoke software with increased automation, significantly reduces turnaround time and helps ensure consistency of testing and reporting across global laboratories.

“Balancing new Wi-Fi 6E technology innovation and speed-to-market with operational and product safety are crucial to customer success as they move to market this future-facing Wi-Fi upgrade,” said Maan Ghanma, smart solutions director for UL’s Consumer, Medical and Information Technology division. “This is why we have proactively addressed potential challenges facing wireless technology manufacturers and their suppliers and have increased Wi-Fi 6E investments to test a myriad of devices and equipment.”

As summarized by UL:

Wi-Fi 6E is the next-generation wireless standard capable of operating in the 6GHz band at speeds up 9.6 Gbps. The “E” in Wi-Fi 6E stands for Extended, referring to the extended of the usable frequency range. Wi-Fi 5 uses frequencies in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Wi-Fi 6E is extended to the 6 GHz band. Whereas Wi-Fi 5 can reach a maximum throughput of 3.5 Gbps, Wi-Fi 6E can reach speeds up to 9.6 Gbps.

More than speed, Wi-Fi 6E provides better performance in congested areas, from corporate offices to device-packed homes. With Wi-Fi 6E, a router will be able to send signals on the 6GHz band in addition to the 2.4 and 5GHz bands currently utilized by Wi-Fi 5. Wi-Fi 6E allows for a wider bandwidth for the latest Wi-Fi devices and overall network improvement.

To harness the power of and demonstrate confidence in this new technology, manufacturers of telecommunications products, including routers and mobile phones with Wi-Fi 6E capabilities, made high-profile announcements earlier this year at CES.

“Given growing Wi-Fi 6E demand and UL’s global presence with strategically located laboratories in the Asia, Europe and the Americas, we have the ability to support the launch of our customers’ Wi-Fi 6E products in their target markets globally, aided by the strength of our Global Market Access services that cover more than 190 countries,” UL's Ghanma said.

UL’s long-standing expertise in wireless communications has continued with its experts leading the way in standards committees and regulatory forums. In addition, UL’s U.S. Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) was the first to issue a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grant for a Wi-Fi 6E product. A TCB is an accredited organization with the authority to issue Grants of Certification for compliance with FCC rules and regulations.

“Advances in healthcare through telemedicine and mobile health, enhancements in the workplace with digital collaboration via video conferencing and cloud applications, expansion of education with digital learning, and increased use of robotics and automation across retail stores are driving the need for acceleration in the deployment of Wi-Fi 6E technologies to provide a more robust, high speed network infrastructure,” commented Mark Briggs, UL’s director of wireless certification and TCB Council board member.

UL’s expansion of Wi-Fi 6E supplements its range of related services including specific absorption rates (SAR), electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and interoperability offering at laboratories in Silicon Valley and Suwon, South Korea.

Visit UL’s wireless device testing and certification solutions website for more information.