WiFi

Wi-Fi Alliance ditches 802.11 spec codes for consumer-friendly naming scheme

October 5, 2018 Industry News No Comments

Meet Wi-Fi 6, the protocol previously known as 802.11ax

Wi-Fi, known for about two decades by its wonky Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers designation, IEEE 802.11, has adopted a new consumer-oriented naming scheme.

The latest version of the specification, 802.11ax, has been renamed Wi-Fi 6 by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the Austin, Texas-based trade association responsible for overseeing Wi-Fi technology branding and product certification.

This noob-friendly generational naming convention is being applied retroactively, so no longer will you refer to 802.11ac or 802.11n. Instead, say Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 4 when conversing with members of the general public.

“For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sort through technical naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi,” lamented Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance, in a statement.

“Wi-Fi Alliance is excited to introduce Wi-Fi 6, and present a new naming scheme to help industry and Wi-Fi users easily understand the Wi-Fi generation supported by their device or connection.”

The Register asked the Wi-Fi Alliance whether anyone actually complained about the baffling alphanumeric jumble that refers to the spec. We’ve not heard back.

The simplified numeric designation, however, should soon show up in the icons appearing on Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Instead of presenting three concentric arcs representing Wi-Fi spectrum radio waves on screen, devices should soon show UI graphic adorned with the appropriate Wi-Fi version number.

Wi-Fi 6 should be able to achieve almost 40 percent higher peak data rates than its predecessor, or so says Intel. Devices previewed earlier this year were topping out around 11 Gbit/s.

With 1024-state quadrature amplitude modulation (1024-QAM), Wi-Fi 6 achieves about 25 per cent better throughput than Wi-Fi 5’s 256-QAM.

But Wi-Fi 6 has been designed more for efficiency and reduced latency in device-rich environments than speed improvement.

Wi-Fi 6 implements a networking technology called orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), which improves on Wi-Fi 5’s orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).

OFDMA subdivides the frequency band into smaller segments to support more clients. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, a 20MHz channel might be chopped into as many as nine subchannels.

Wi-Fi 6 supports both Uplink OFDMA – allowing data frames to be sent simultaneously by multiple devices – and Downlink OFDMA – allowing multiple data frames to be sent simultaneously to multiple devices, each of which promises improved network throughput.

Wi-Fi 5 implemented Multi-User, Multi-Input, Multiple Output (MU-MIMO), which can deliver data across four streams at once, but only via downlink. Wi-Fi 6, which runs in full-duplex (up and down) MU-MIMO, supports eight streams, allowing each to service multiple devices.

And Wi-Fi 6 includes a variety of other enhancements tuned toward efficient networking: Multi-Traffic Identifier Aggregated MAC Protocol Data Unit (multi-TID AMPDU), individual target wake time (TWT), and operation mode indication (OMI).

Wi-Fi 6 hardware has already begun to appear. Just don’t call it 802.11ax. ®

Original Source: The Register

Exascale is now open for business in Edinburgh, Scotland

September 3, 2018 Press Release No Comments

Due to Exascale’s recent expansion into Pulsant South Gyle, we’re now accepting IP Transit and L2TP Interconnect orders within this facility. Further to this Exascale now terminate all Ethernet leased lines which originate in Scotland within this facility.

Exascale’s network is now on-net in four data centres in the U.K., connecting to five major internet exchanges and three Tier 1 providers in diverse locations. Exascale’s network has been built to route traffic regionally, reducing end user latency. To this we’re very proud to maintain over 32% of the global routing table in low latency peering.

About Exascale

Established in 2009 Exascale is a U.K. business Internet Service Provider (ISP) with points of presence in London, Cheltenham, Manchester and most recently Edinburgh. Exascale provides Broadband, Fibre Broadband, L2TP Handoff, MPLS IP, Leased Lines, Managed Cloud Services and Dedicated Servers.
Exascale provides services to the Logistics, Education, Software, IT and Consultancy industries.

Press Release – Exascale is to extend it’s IP network to Edinburgh

May 10, 2018 Press Release No Comments

Exascale has successfully obtained a grant from the Scottish Government to assist in the improvement of the Internet infrastructure in Scotland. Exascale will build a Point of Presence (PoP) in Pulsant’s South Gyle Data Centre to complement Exascale’s existing Points of Presence in London, Cheltenham and Manchester.

Exascale will be interconnecting with LINX Scotland at Pulsant’s South Gyle Data Centre, where Exascale’s network will also be connected via Diverse Fibre to their Manchester Point of Presence.

Exascale believe interconnecting in Scotland will localise traffic originating in Scotland (via Ethernet or Broadband) and also route traffic from Exascale’s other network Points of Presence destine for Scotland via LINX Scotland. This will ensure all traffic is kept within Exascale’s network lowering latency for end users in Scotland, and for users connected to Exascale’s network in the rest of the U.K.

What’s more Exascale’s growing portfolio of Anycast DNS and CDN services will also be deployed within Pulsant’s South Gyle Data Centre to localise traffic in Scotland, further lowering latency for users and businesses alike.

Exascale will offer its entire product portfolio from Pulsant’s South Gyle Data Centre: IP Transit, MPLS IP, L2TP Handoff, Ethernet and Pseudowires to any of our on-net locations.

About Exascale

Established in 2009 Exascale is a U.K. business Internet Service Provider (ISP) with points of presence in London, Cheltenham, Manchester and most recently Edinburgh. Exascale provides Broadband, Fibre Broadband, L2TP Handoff, MPLS IP, Leased Lines, Managed Cloud Services and Dedicated Servers.

Exascale provides services to the Logistics, Education, Software, IT and Consultancy industries.

How Reliable Business Internet Access Can Boost Your Customer Service

April 9, 2018 Business, Workplace No Comments

As a business it is important to provide the very best in customer service to your customers. Not only does this show that you take their needs and wants seriously, but it sets you apart from competitors. A business or brand that provides a high level of customer service is much more likely to gain repeat customers than those who provide a service that’s substandard. After all, would you go back to a company who didn’t respond to emails or failed to fix a problem? However, regardless of how you offer customer service, reliable business internet access is required.

 

Benefits of Reliable Business Internet Access for Customer Service

 

Respond to Questions and Queries With Ease

Before choosing a business’ services or products, many customers will want to know more. A reliable internet connection allows you to answer all questions and queries with ease, whether that be via social media, email or through the website.

Handle Complaints and Negative Feedback Promptly

At one point or another every business will be faced with a complaint or negative review, it’s hard to avoid. With the increased use of social media and review websites any form of negativity directed towards a business is there for all to see, but if handled correctly this can be a way for you to highlight that you take complaints, negative feedback and your customer’s opinions seriously. With a reliable internet connection, you can do this at any time and all problems can be dealt with immediately.

Always Available to Offer Customer Service

With so many businesses and brands offering a high level of customer service people have become accustomed receiving help and advice whenever they need it, without long delays or wait times. This means that any business that doesn’t offer this level of customer service is likely to stand out for all the wrong reasons. A reliable internet connection ensures you’re always online and available to assist customers and clients whenever they need you.

Reliable business internet access isn’t just about limited down time and a strong connection it also includes internet speed, as slow internet speed can obstruct the way your business operates online. At Exascale we understand that a good internet connection is paramount to your business’ success which is why we focus on speed, limited down time and reliability. Find out more about our business connectivity options by getting in touch on 0330 010 0140 or via the online contact form.

Ofcom Auction Results for 4G & 5G Mobile Spectrum

April 8, 2018 Ofcom No Comments

Ofcom has announced the outcome of the principal stage of its auction to release airwaves for 4G mobile and future 5G services.

The regulator has been running an auction of airwaves – or spectrum – in two frequency bands: 2.3 GHz, which is usable by current mobile phones and will help improve 4G capacity for today’s mobile users; and 3.4 GHz, which is one of the spectrum bands earmarked for 5G, the next generation of mobile technology.

With the principal stage of the auction now complete, Ofcom has today confirmed the amount of spectrum won in the principal stage by each company.

  • Airspan Spectrum Holdings Limited has not won spectrum in either band.EE
  • Limited has won 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £302,592,000.Hutchison 3G UK
  • Limited has won 20 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £151,296,000.Telefónica UK Limited has won all 40 MHz of 2.3 GHz spectrum available, at a cost of £
  • 205,896,000; and 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £317,720,000.Vodafone
  • Limited has won 50 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £378,240,000.

The total value of the principal stage is £1,355,744,000, with all money raised from the auction to be paid to HM Treasury.

What happens next?

In the second half of 2019, Ofcom will also auction spectrum in the 700MHz band, but this will come with a caveat: the need to improve 4G coverage first.

“To ensure widespread improvements in mobile coverage across the UK, we are proposing to attach coverage obligations to some of the licences we will award for the 700 MHz band,” Ofcom said.

“These obligations will require winning bidders to roll out improved mobile coverage in rural areas and the nations.”

Sources: BBC & CommsBusiness

 

Steve Halama