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.

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.

Follow Wi-Fi Alliance:
wi-fi.org/beacon
wi-fi.org/signal
facebook.com/wificertified
twitter.com/wifialliance
linkedin.com/company/wi-fi-alliance
youtube.com/wifialliance

Media Contact:
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f9a76738-d4dc-4cfa-9799-87a5d457ec90