Wi-Fi Alliance Approves New 802.11ah Standard

The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced a new Wi-Fi solution that offers a greater range while using less power. The new 802.11ah standard, dubbed HaLow, operates on the unlicensed 900MHz band, boasting twice the range of the 2.4GHz standard, and offers greater wall penetration. It is hoped that HaLow will power the next generation of IoT (internet of things) devices, since it will require less power of its devices, while able to transmit across larger distances.

“Wi-Fi HaLow extends Wi-Fi into the 900MHz band, enabling the low power connectivity necessary for applications including sensor and wearables,” the announcement on the Wi-Fi Alliance website reads. “Wi-Fi HaLow’s range is nearly twice that of today’s Wi-Fi, and will not only be capable of transmitting signals further, but also providing a more robust connection in challenging environments where the ability to more easily penetrate walls or other barriers is an important consideration.”

“Wi-Fi HaLow will broadly adopt Wi-Fi protocols and deliver many of the benefits that consumers have come to expect from Wi-Fi today, including multi-vendor interoperability, strong government-grade security, and easy setup,” the statement adds.

“Wi-Fi HaLow is well suited to meet the unique needs of the Smart Home, Smart City, and industrial markets because of its ability to operate using very low power, penetrate through walls, and operate at significantly longer ranges than Wi-Fi today,” Edgar Figueroa, President and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance, said at CES 2016 during the reveal of HaLow. “Wi-Fi HaLow expands the unmatched versatility of Wi-Fi to enable applications from small, battery-operated wearable devices to large-scale industrial facility deployments – and everything in between.”