(Source: theregister)CableLabs, a non-profit network research organization operated by cable television operators, stated that the rapid growth in Wi-Fi usage means that the capacity of the 6 GHz band may soon be exhausted.The organization released preliminary results of its analysis of Wi-Fi network usage on Tuesday, simulating traffic within a 12-story residential building (with 12 apartments or townhouses on each floor) and made the above statement.Researchers in the lab utilized the entire 6 GHz band, randomly assigning channels and channel bandwidth to each residential unit while ensuring that adjacent units did not use the same channel. They also estimated how many connected devices future households would accommodate and the peak traffic these devices would generate.The testers then looked ahead five years and attempted to predict “the latency and packet loss for each connected device in each residential unit during peak Wi-Fi activity periods.”They found that “approximately 30% of the simulated buildings experienced increased one-way Wi-Fi latency (over 10 milliseconds) — and the packet loss rate increased by 2% or more.”If the analysis is correct, it means that some users in the buildings assumed by CableLabs may experience poor video call quality, streaming video may stutter, and gamers may not be able to react in time to win.CableLabs’ motivation for conducting this research is not entirely altruistic, as it has long called on lawmakers to ensure more unlicensed spectrum is made available to maintain Wi-Fi speeds. Its post regarding this analysis reiterated this call and urged U.S. lawmakers to address the issue before slow Wi-Fi speeds have economic impacts.The organization has committed to releasing a full analysis report, and The Register is looking forward to it, as while many people in the U.S. live in dense buildings, there are millions more in Europe and Asia who also reside in such environments, making the implications of this early analysis potentially greater in those regions.Wi-Fi Spectrum: 6 GHz Usage Surges, But Set to Run OutAs U.S. and global policymakers debate the future of spectrum policy, CableLabs has released our preliminary results of the Wi-Fi network usage analysis, further confirming the urgent need to preserve current unlicensed spectrum resources and to increase more resources as soon as possible.In short, the 6 GHz band — a key Wi-Fi frequency band alongside the traditional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands — is experiencing explosive growth and rapid adoption, which is expected to accelerate significantly this year. With consumer data and device demand expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, the 6 GHz band is set to run out in high-density environments.If more unlicensed spectrum is not brought into use, the full utilization of existing Wi-Fi spectrum will lead to a decline in the performance of applications and services that rely on Wi-Fi as a modern connectivity backbone.Any proposals to reduce or repurpose the 6 GHz unlicensed spectrum will have a devastating impact on Wi-Fi performance and severely harm consumers, U.S. device manufacturers, and other businesses that expect and rely on reliable connectivity. Without the allocation of more unlicensed spectrum to support the growing Wi-Fi usage, consumer Wi-Fi performance will decline.These conclusions are based on rigorous network simulations of multi-story residential environments, using a high-performance modeling tool called NS-3, which incorporates specific parameters of Wi-Fi technology and user behavior. This analysis builds on CableLabs’ previous research, which clarified the demand for additional Wi-Fi spectrum.This work now goes further, modeling and analyzing a complete Wi-Fi environment with a large number of client devices, users, and networks operating in close proximity within multi-story residential buildings.Specifically, the study simulated a 12-story residential building (e.g., an apartment or condominium building) with 12 units on each floor. We included all 6 GHz Wi-Fi access points and active client devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets, TVs, and other connected devices) within the building. In the simulation, we used the entire 6 GHz band and randomly assigned specific channels and channel bandwidth to each unit while avoiding the use of the same channel in adjacent units. The starting point for device and traffic growth was based on the distribution of today’s typical connected households.Subsequently, the study increased the number of devices and peak traffic over the coming years based on industry forecasts.To identify the depletion of Wi-Fi spectrum, the study analyzed two key metrics: latency (transmission delay) and packet loss (data loss) for all connected devices in each residential unit during peak Wi-Fi activity periods. For many popular and essential applications, latency is a strong predictor of service quality and user experience, including real-time communications like FaceTime or Zoom, streaming, online gaming, and home security. Packet loss can impair all types of applications and is associated with unreliable connections and congestion.The simulation results indicate that consumers in densely populated environments may experience widespread and significant declines in Wi-Fi performance, suggesting that the spectrum will run out soon as demand continues to grow.Specifically, the study examined Wi-Fi performance within the 12-story residential building based on five years of growing Wi-Fi demand. In this scenario, approximately 30% of users in the simulated building experienced increased one-way Wi-Fi latency (over 10 milliseconds), with packet loss rates reaching or exceeding 2%. When latency and packet loss exceed these thresholds, the quality of experience for residents begins to decline, especially for real-time applications like video calls that are most sensitive to Wi-Fi performance. As latency and packet loss further increase, even non-real-time applications like streaming may begin to fail.The following Figures 1 and 2 are abstract diagrams of the building with 144 units. Each rectangle represents a unit in the building. Figure 1 shows specific units, their relative positions in the building, and the amount of latency for at least one 6 GHz client device in the units five years after the growth of client devices and peak traffic. Figure 2 shows the same packet loss situation. The variations in latency and packet loss across the entire building depend on the complex interactions between devices within and between units, the number of client devices and peak traffic in different units, and the variations in Wi-Fi signal propagation and contention within and between units.
Figure 1: Latency Heatmap (Over Five Years) — 90th Percentile Latency, showing units with one-way Wi-Fi latency greater than 10 milliseconds and the amount of latency for at least one device in those units.
Figure 2: Packet Loss Heatmap (Over Five Years) — showing units with packet loss rates exceeding 2% and the packet loss situation for at least one device in those units.Preliminary results indicate that the 6 GHz spectrum is critical for maintaining the reliability and performance of Wi-Fi for U.S. consumers and businesses. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the need for policymakers to allocate more unlicensed spectrum. If action is not taken, reliable Wi-Fi connections will be compromised, which is essential for U.S. consumers and businesses to access high-speed broadband.