How 5G and Wi-Fi 6 Will Impact the Future of Remote Work
Remote work is not new. However, you could say that the Coronavirus sped up its popularity and wider acceptance. As a result, remote work is going to be here to stay.
But working from home comes with a few concerns:
What about security, visibility, communication, networking and connectivity?
When professionals are in the office, these areas are covered. In order for professionals to work remotely, they need to have the same connectivity and infrastructure to do so. That means that when professionals perform their job no matter where they are, their expectations are to obtain the same level of connectivity and security in their homes that they’ve come to expect in the office.
With these expectations on the table, IT personnel are focusing on 5G and Wi-Fi 6 to make remote working better.
5G and Wi-Fi 6 Work Together
There are a lot of questions about whether 5G or Wi-Fi 6 is better. Both technologies are powerful, and the main appeal of each is their fast speeds and reliability.
With remote work here to stay, the situation becomes less about which is better and more about how they can work together. Because they can. Together 5G and Wi-Fi 6 have:
Better synergy: Wi-Fi 6 and 5G both offer lower latency, better resiliency, and some load balancing. 5G and Wi-Fi 6 have the ability to seamlessly integrate. Where one falls the other one picks up.
Better redundancy: Wi-Fi 6 and 5G both provide better redundancy. This means better network availability, communication and decreased risk of failure along a data path. This is important because our offices don’t rely on one network connection. But when we are at home, we do rely on just one network. 5G can play a large role in making sure we have the right resiliency at home when working from our company’s network.
Better security: The two working together also offer better security capabilities. Wi-Fi 6 and 5G help extend security perimeters in and outside of the home.
Better coverage: 5G and Wi-Fi 6 will be beneficial across industries, especially industries with locations distributed all over the country. Wi-Fi 6 offers better network connection and 5G has the potential to be a very quick way to extend network coverage. Also, it can provide added redundancy into those locations without a lot of additional infrastructure.
Working together, Wi-Fi 6 and 5G are powerful tools to make working from home more successful in general. And, because remote work is already growing in popularity, beyond COVID-19, it’s likely here to stay.
You can dive deeper into Wi-Fi 6 on Actiontec. For more on emerging Wi-Fi technology and news, check out Actiontec’s blog.