Wi-Fi® access to 6 GHz promotes environmental sustainability


AUSTIN, Texas and WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As policymakers around the world consider the future of the 6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, a new report from WIK-Consult provides clear evidence that allowing Wi-Fi® access to the entire frequency band advances environmental sustainability goals in combating climate change. The WIK-Consult study prepared for Wi-Fi Alliance®Sustainability Benefits of 6 GHz Spectrum Policy – shows that with sufficient access to spectrum, Wi-Fi outperforms cellular networks in delivering broadband connectivity with significant reductions in energy consumption and environmental footprint.

Wi-Fi Alliance is proud to contribute this report to help countries’ ambitious aims to respond to the climate change threat. According to the WIK-Consult analysis, allowing Wi-Fi access to the entire 6 GHz frequency band in Europe would eliminate 3.2 megatons of CO2 emission per year. Similar results can be expected in other parts of the world.

The upcoming 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference presents policymakers with a unique and compelling opportunity to leverage 6 GHz spectrum policy to enable broadband connectivity, deliver economic value, and advance environmental sustainability. Wi-Fi Alliance calls on policymakers to recognize that opening the 6 GHz band to Wi-Fi – in addition to environmental benefits – enables a wide range of new technologies and use cases, which aligns with growing broadband (e.g., fiber) deployments. Wi-Fi connectivity is versatile, extremely affordable, and compatible with existing networks that share security, management, and authentication implementations. This makes Wi-Fi an ideal “force multiplier.”

Read the full report: https://www.wi-fi.org/file/sustainability-benefits-of-6-ghz-spectrum-policy.

Energy consumption (million Kwh per month)

About Wi-Fi Alliance® |  www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 75,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

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Media Contact:
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
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