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Chipmaker Qualcomm is looking to capitalize on the growing number of connected devices within the home by releasing a new Wi-Fi technology package aimed at addressing home network congestion issues, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. With the growth of the IoT, companies are looking to provide consistent service on home networks that were not designed to handle such high numbers of connected devices. The new chip standard, 802.11ax, is designed to help cope with that issue.
The number of IoT devices is growing steadily. BI Intelligence forecasts that there will be more than 22 billion by 2021. While the majority of these devices will be used in enterprise solutions, the number of consumer IoT devices will continue to rise as well, reaching into the billions. Combined with the growing number of mobile devices, home networks will see more devices trying to connect and transmit or receive data. Additionally, BI Intelligence found that 80% of IoT service providers use Wi-Fi in their solutions, with only a limited number using more specialized IoT network protocols like ZigBee or Z-Wave. In the home, we expect that number to likely be even higher, as the infrastructure for Wi-Fi connections already exists and consumers can simply connect devices to their existing networks.
Companies designing IoT devices need to be mindful of the ease of network integration. In both consumer and enterprise situations, those making the decision to install connected devices will want to minimize the hassle associated with that installation. Using Wi-Fi may be one way to reduce the difficulties of moving to new devices, sacrificing some potential efficiency for the sake of convenience. To facilitate this sort of decision, Qualcomm and other chip makers are working to make Wi-Fi more suited for the IoT through steps like the introduction of the 802.11ax standard, creating the kind of network that can support the number of devices that will be coming over the next few years.
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