The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) announced that it will make the full 6 GHz frequency band available for Wi-Fi use, becoming the first country in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to use the new generation.
The latest WiFI 6e technology would improve internet speeds by 5-fold for Saudi users at home and in public areas such as airports and shopping malls. That means there are now 150 percent more open airwaves that routers can use for the new generation of Wi-Fi network.
The step aims to enable innovative uses of the frequency spectrum while keeping pace with the strategic shift in the commission’s role as a digital regulator and supporting digitization in the Kingdom.
Fostering WiFi 6e in Saudi Arabia was announced during a webinar ‘’Fostering New Generation of WiFi Technologies in Saudi Arabia’’ which discussed the role of new WiFi Technologies in digitizing the Kingdom.
The webinar hosted by CITC was attended by several multinational firms, with speakers from Intel, Apple, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA), Microsoft, WiFi Alliance, Facebook, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and others.
The commission explained that WiFi 6e will also enable future network applications across a wide range of uses including the Internet of Things, smart homes, and virtual reality applications.
WiFi 6e will also increase the efficiency of wireless applications in the education, health, and entertainment industries by connecting Wi-Fi networks with fiber optics to allow faster data transmission.
The announcement follows CITC’s recent publication of its new spectrum outlook for commercial and innovative use (2021-2023), which aims to improve the innovative use spectrum and enable new generations of smart innovative wireless technologies.
