The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released the results of its phase-two trials of real-world use cases for Wifi HaLow. 

It has announced the successful completion of phase-two field trials of IEEE 802.11ah Wifi HaLow, which promises reliable, long-range, low-power connectivity, making it suitable for various IoT scenarios.

Part of the WBA’s Wifi HaLow for IoT project, the trials, which took place in North America, have proven the scalability and efficiency of Wifi HaLow in difficult environments such as dense urban settings and large industrial complexes.

Benefits have been proven in each of the use cases including extended ranges, improved material penetration capabilities, extended battery life, enhanced device density, a higher level of security, ease of installation and management, and elevated data throughput in IoT scenarios when compared with existing wifi standards. The phase-two field trial use cases were smart home, warehousing, smart farm, smart city, smart office building, smart school campus and smart industrial complex.

The trials were conducted by WBA and its members including partners Morse Micro, Newracom, and Methods2Business, alongside participants such as AT&T, Charter Communications, Nextcomm Systems and Qualcomm, which focused on larger-scale implementations and testing in more challenging environments.

Wifi HaLow includes features such as operation in the sub-1GHz radio band, the use of narrow channel bandwidths, an increased number of supported devices and new operating modes to accommodate battery-operated devices. It also, builds on the foundations of wifi, retaining such features as the most up-to-date high levels of security and native-IP support inherent in all internet connectivity.

The report (wballiance.com/wi-fi-halow-for-iot-field-trials-report) contains actionable insights that can help drive innovation and decisions across the wifi industry. For businesses, it lays down a roadmap to harnessing Wifi HaLow for developing products and entering markets. For network planners and operators, it offers evidence-based strategies for enhancing network capabilities and service offerings. Additionally, the report serves as an educational tool, deepening understanding of Wifi HaLow’s operational dynamics and advantages.

“Each of these real-world field trials has been a huge success demonstrating the readiness and the benefits the Wifi HaLow standard can bring to a vast range of industries and use cases, improving performance and reducing complexity,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the WBA. “We now move to the next phase, and are inviting industry players interested in participating in trials across Emea and Apac to reach out. Your participation can help shape the future of IoT connectivity and drive innovation across various sectors.”

Marleen Boonen, CEO of Dutch firm Methods2Business (www.methods2business.com), added: “After several years of intense collaboration with the other Wifi HaLow device manufacturers to establish in 2021 the wifi-certified HaLow standard, it’s really great to further strengthen our joint efforts in the WBA to jointly develop the global Wifi HaLow market. Our company is really delighted about the overwhelming range, coverage and penetration results obtained in the US field trials with the different vendors in various real-life use cases. After this great experience, our team is very motivated to demonstrate more benefits of the Wifi HaLow technology, like lower power consumption for a multi-year battery operation in sensors, in the upcoming field trials in Europe and Japan.”

The WBA (wballiance.com) is a global organisation that connects people with the latest wifi initiatives. Founded in 2003, the vision of the WBA is to drive seamless, interoperable service experiences via wifi within the global wireless ecosystem.