Background and Importance
Everyone has dealt with poor internet before. It's not fun!
There are many reasons why your Wi-Fi can get slow: distance from the router, your router and device's specifications, even how far you are from a network node.
What Wi-Fi 6E aims to fix, however, is when too many people attempt to use a network at the same time, causing an effective overload. Think of congestion as being like a freeway having more traffic than it can handle. It will, of course, slow down and stall.
Reducing Wi-Fi congestion isn't simple. It requires more bandwidth to be supported, so more devices can use it at the same time.
The Problem With Existing Wi-Fi Bands
Most current people using Wi-Fi are connected to one of two bands: the 2.4Ghz band, and the newer 5Ghz band. A band, by the way, just denotes what frequency spectrum your device uses to communicate with your router.
These two bands have their purposes, but also certain pitfalls:
- 2.4Ghz: works great for long-range coverage, and can penetrate through solid objects more easily. This leads to greater signal reception. However, it has lower maximum speeds.
- 5Ghz: allows for faster network speeds by using a higher wavelength. However, it has a hard time passing through objects, and as such, signal reception suffers.
As you can see, there are benefits and downsides to each band. Crucially, neither band offers a solution for network bandwidth, which means when many devices are trying to connect to the same Wi-Fi, it slows the entire network for everyone.