By Ken Stober

There are some technology trends that will not be missed in 2023. There will be more wifi popping up in several locations than before.

This really expanded during the covid 19 pandemic lockdown with more people switching to work from home and several students relying on internet for their educational needs.

Unlike before, where access to internet was very expensive, today, its cost keeps coming down in Uganda.

As a result, more people are purchasing unlimited plans versus bundled plans. This is due to the fact that the content is getting closer and closer to the end user. The biggest costs of internet is when ISP/Telcos have to get your data on fiber cables under the ocean making it expensive to them.

If more content is local, the internet costs come down and the ISP/Telco can pass the savings to the consumer.  This will keep happening in 2023.

In 2022, wifi5 was the main technology used to communicate from your mobile telephone, iPad or computer to your internet connection. In 2023, we are seeing more people moving to wifi6.  Wifi6 is the standard being used to define how your mobile telephone or computer talks to your wifi router that is connected to the internet.

Wifi 6

Wifi6 is the next standard in wifi- technology and has several advantages:

Security: wifi6 brings new levels of security allowing people to send and receive without intruders seeing your information, by using the new WPA3 encryption.

Better battery like: the new wifi6 chips that are designed for phones, laptops, routers are much more energy efficient, this allows longer internet time on your devices.

Higher capacity: wifi6 moves to 160 MHz channel sizes. So, now the technology can move more data between devices and to the internet.

Better in congested areas: as more people are using wifi, the issue becomes interference of frequencies being used. In older technology such as wifi4, it only used 2.4 GHz frequency with 40mhz channel. Wifi6 allows more devices to connect simultaneously with higher levels of frequency bands, allowing less interference with other devices.

Increased capacity for more users: wifi6 allows more concurrent users per wifi router, and more streams. As we move to internet of things where more devices are connected on-line, this will become critical.

Today, some companies have products that can provide up to 1,000 concurrent users on a single device. But even lower-cost home wifi devices will have much higher capacity with wifi6 in the future.

Wifi 6, will continue to grow across Uganda and East Africa. However, it does require your wifi routers, mobile telephones and computers for support. So, when you are buying new devices, it is advisable that you consider the latest technology.

Ken Stober is  the Group Managing Director and CEO, Simplifi Networks , Bugolobi.