Wi-Fi 6 offered by 39 operators in Europe at end-2020

Broadband operators providing Wi-Fi 6 gateways amount to 39 at the end of 2020, for 53 devices commercialized, as shown in Dataxis latest research focusing on broadband CPE key characteristics.  Wi-Fi 6 is the latest Wi-Fi standard deployed by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The wireless networking standard enables a larger capacity and better use of bandwidth to serve more simultaneous users with many wireless devices. It supports data rates up to 9.6Gbps which is more than twice the maximum speed supported by Wi-Fi 5.  The potential of broadband subscribers with access to Wi-Fi 6, a figure which accounts for the number of subscribers of the internet service provider rolling out the router, divided by the number of routers deployed to date by the ISP, reached 24 million in 2020. This figure, close to 10% of the 260 million fixed internet subscribers counted in the continent at the end of 2020, is expected to continue rising at a fast pace in coming years.  These deployments are mostly implemented by fiber operators, as FTTH modems represent close to 30% of the potential subscribers reached by the devices. Wi-Fi extenders are also increasingly offering this feature, reaching 20% of Wi-Fi 6 capable CPE potential in 2020.  Additional broadband CPE high-end features are included in the analysis published, such as Mesh smart Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6, and the access of advanced routers: Docsis 3.0 and Docsis 3.1, Super vectoring 35b and Gfast and Fixed 5G.  As device suppliers gradually integrate these technologies, adoption should progress extremely fast in this context of ever-rising demand for better wireless connectivity and continued support from EU regulators.