Saw this this morning on Reditt's Home automation forum posted by tacos4tacos...
New WiFi standard offers more range for less power
The WiFi Alliance's 900MHz 'HaLow' standard is aimed at connected home devices.
Steve Dent , @stevetdent 01.04.16 in Internet
The WiFi Alliance has finally approved the eagerly-anticipated 802.11ah WiFi standard and dubbed it "HaLow." Approved devices will operate in the unlicensed 900MHz band, which has double the range of the current 2.4GHz standard, uses less power and provides better wall penetration. The standard is seen as a key for the internet of things and connected home devices, which haven't exactly set the world on fire so far. The problem has been that gadgets like door sensors, connected bulbs and cameras need to have enough power to send data long distances to remote hubs or routers. However, the current WiFi standard doesn't lend itself to long battery life and transmission distances.
The WiFi Alliance said that HaLow will "broadly adopt existing WiFi protocols," like IP connectivity, meaning devices will have regular WiFi-grade security and interoperability. It added that many new products, like routers, will also operate in the regular 2.4 and 5GHz bands. That should open the floodgates to a lot of new 900Mhz-enabled devices in the near future, and not just smart toasters. The group said that the new standard "will enable a variety of new power-efficient use cases in the smart home, connected car ... as well as industrial, retail, agriculture and smart city environments." How about just a better WiFi connection from the spare room?
Initial Reddit comments....
Time for me to trademark 802.11aha
So, in this instance, AP stands for Alan Partridge ?
This is the first I've head of the 900Mhz WiFi standard. I suppose a possible z-wave replacement.
Why would it operating at 900MHz make it a replacement for Z-Wave?
They are still completely different networks that offer different feature sets. Just like ZigBee and WiFi are completely different feature sets despite both operating on 2.4GHz.
I think it will be interesting to see if this new standard catches on at all. I'm not really seeing a gap that this is filling. Seems like this is more of a move of desperation by the WiFi alliance getting worried that WiFi could lose out on market share by not getting in on the whole IoT thing because current WiFi is not suitable for battery powered devices. They have also said they won't begin certifying HaLow devices until 2018 which likely means they will be way too far behind to have any hope.
Seems like this is more of a move of desperation by the WiFi alliance getting worried that WiFi could lose out on market share
This is exactly how I read this announcement, especially when they're trying to get to market in 2 years. What does it offer that would make anyone interested in changing to their standard?......
New WiFi standard offers more range for less power
The WiFi Alliance's 900MHz 'HaLow' standard is aimed at connected home devices.
Steve Dent , @stevetdent 01.04.16 in Internet
The WiFi Alliance has finally approved the eagerly-anticipated 802.11ah WiFi standard and dubbed it "HaLow." Approved devices will operate in the unlicensed 900MHz band, which has double the range of the current 2.4GHz standard, uses less power and provides better wall penetration. The standard is seen as a key for the internet of things and connected home devices, which haven't exactly set the world on fire so far. The problem has been that gadgets like door sensors, connected bulbs and cameras need to have enough power to send data long distances to remote hubs or routers. However, the current WiFi standard doesn't lend itself to long battery life and transmission distances.
The WiFi Alliance said that HaLow will "broadly adopt existing WiFi protocols," like IP connectivity, meaning devices will have regular WiFi-grade security and interoperability. It added that many new products, like routers, will also operate in the regular 2.4 and 5GHz bands. That should open the floodgates to a lot of new 900Mhz-enabled devices in the near future, and not just smart toasters. The group said that the new standard "will enable a variety of new power-efficient use cases in the smart home, connected car ... as well as industrial, retail, agriculture and smart city environments." How about just a better WiFi connection from the spare room?
Initial Reddit comments....
Time for me to trademark 802.11aha
So, in this instance, AP stands for Alan Partridge ?
This is the first I've head of the 900Mhz WiFi standard. I suppose a possible z-wave replacement.
Why would it operating at 900MHz make it a replacement for Z-Wave?
They are still completely different networks that offer different feature sets. Just like ZigBee and WiFi are completely different feature sets despite both operating on 2.4GHz.
I think it will be interesting to see if this new standard catches on at all. I'm not really seeing a gap that this is filling. Seems like this is more of a move of desperation by the WiFi alliance getting worried that WiFi could lose out on market share by not getting in on the whole IoT thing because current WiFi is not suitable for battery powered devices. They have also said they won't begin certifying HaLow devices until 2018 which likely means they will be way too far behind to have any hope.
Seems like this is more of a move of desperation by the WiFi alliance getting worried that WiFi could lose out on market share
This is exactly how I read this announcement, especially when they're trying to get to market in 2 years. What does it offer that would make anyone interested in changing to their standard?......