Time to read: 6 minutes 10 seconds | Published: October 17, 2025
Wi-Fi 6E What is Wi-Fi 6E?
Wi-Fi 6E enables access to the new 6 GHz band which translates into 1200 MHz of clean spectrum in the US and much of the rest of the world and nearly 500 MHz of clean spectrum in the EU. This represents the single largest allocation of unlicensed spectrum in history and nearly triples the spectrum available for Wi-Fi. The "E" in Wi-Fi 6E stands for "Extended" since Wi-Fi 6E extends the capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 to the 6 GHz band for more capacity, wider channels, and less interference.
Wi-Fi 6E expands on the existing Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard and allows access to a new 6 GHz band. Wi-Fi 6E takes the efficiency features from Wi-Fi 6 like OFDMA, WPA3, and Target Wake Time and extends them to the 6 GHz band to provide more contiguous spectrum and less interference. With Wi-Fi 6E, enterprises can support new use cases that demand multi-gigabit speeds like high-definition video.
Why Wi-Fi 6E?
- More capacity in the 6 GHz band, which solves connection and congestion issues.
- Wider channels, up to 160 MHz, which are ideal for high-def video and virtual reality.
- No interference from microwaves, etc. because only 6E-capable devices can use the band.
Improving user experience with Wi-Fi 6E
With the growing demand to connect more devices to the network, Wi-Fi 6E will enable enterprises and service providers to support new and emerging applications and keep each connected device performing at an optimum level.
The introduction of Wi-Fi 6E addresses Wi-Fi spectrum shortage issues by providing additional and contiguous channel bandwidth, supporting an ever-growing number of devices at unprecedented speeds. The added 1200 MHz in the 6 GHz band enables enterprises to deliver faster, more reliable enterprise Wi-Fi 6E networks. These networks are highly scalable and resilient, with simplified architectures, improving their ability to support more users at multigigabit speeds—even in very congested environments with many mobile and IoT devices.
Wi-Fi 6E further increases the network capacity and efficiency for demanding and mission-critical applications that require higher throughput, such as enterprise video streaming and video conference. Wi-Fi 6E is now widely supported both for access points and client devices including laptops, cellular device, and IOT. The benefits of Wi-Fi 6E combined with availability of APs and client devices are driving greater adoption of the new standard.
How does Wi-Fi 6E work?
Wi-Fi 6E provides all the features and capabilities of 802.11ax, but it extends these capabilities to the 6 GHz band. 802.11ax goes beyond boosting network speed and combines innovative technologies to improve overall network performance when connecting large numbers of devices running high-bandwidth, low-latency applications.
Wi-Fi 6E networks provide increased capacity by operating on the 6 GHz band with 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels, while leveraging these existing 802.11ax features:
- 8x8 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO, OFDMA, and BSS Color provides up to four times more capacity to handle more devices.
- Target wake time (TWT) improves network efficiency and device battery life, including that of IoT devices.
- 1024 quadrature amplitude modulation mode (1024-QAM) increases throughput for emerging, bandwidth-intensive uses by transmitting more data in the same amount of spectrum.
What device classes support Wi-Fi 6E?
- Low Power Indoor (LPI) AP: This fixed indoor only class uses lower power levels and does not require an Automated Frequency Coordination Service (AFC). LPI APs for use in indoor enterprise deployment provide the same coverage as today’s Wi-Fi 6 APs and will provide similar 6Ghz coverage as today’s 5Ghz radios.
- Standard Power (SP) AP: Supports outdoor and indoor operations, where the Standard Power APs are coordinated through an AFC) to mitigate 6Ghz Wi‑Fi from interfering with incumbent services such as public safety and cellular backhaul, microwave links, satellite services, and TV broadcast services.
- Very Low Power (VLP) AP: VLP provides mobile indoor or outdoor usage from mobile clients for use cases like small cell coverage, hotspots, etc.
Use of these three device classes varies by geography and regulatory permissions.
How do I choose a Wi-Fi 6E vendor?
Consider networking and Wi-Fi vendors that:
- Demonstrate industry leadership as recognized by leading analysts such as Gartner, Forrester, and IDC.
- Deliver built-in security with unified policy enforcement across wired and wireless networks.
- Simplify operations by using AI and machine learning to automate optimization and provide actionable recommendations to remediate issues.
- Offer secure, energy efficient IoT capabilities to enable you to leverage APs as an IoT connectivity platform using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, or USB ports.
- Provide the flexibility to manage on-prem or in the cloud and to deploy with or without gateways.
HPE offers Wi-Fi 6E access points solutions by both HPE Aruba Networking and HPE Juniper Networking.
What is the regulatory status of Wi-Fi 6E?
Global adoption of the 6 GHz band to support both Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 is strong with 94 countries providing full or partial access to the 1200 MHz band for Low Power Indoor (LPI) devices. Regulatory support for Standard Power (SP) devices also varies by country and may require access points to use an Automated Frequency Coordination service (AFC) before enabling the 6 GHz radio to protect incumbent outdoor services (such as microwave links, broadcast auxiliary service, and cable television relay service) in the 6 GHz band.
What are the differences in Wi-Fi 6E deployments in the US and EMEA?
There is an agreement for Europe to allocate the lower half of the band (5945–6425 MHz) for Wi-Fi. Even though this is not the complete 6 GHz band, it still provides a lot of additional spectrum to use. To harmonize regulations globally, benefit from economies of scale, and accommodate future capacity needs, the Wi-Fi industry is working with regulators in Europe to open up the upper portion of the band (6425–7125 MHz) as well.
Within Europe, the UK and Denmark deviate slightly from the European agreement. The UK will allow slightly higher transmit power and have a little more spectrum to use (5925–6425 MHz).
Are Wi-Fi 6E APs available for outdoor/ruggedized environments?
Yes, outdoor and ruggedized Wi-Fi 6E APs are available now. Outdoor APs, APs with external antennas, or APs that use standard power (>30 dBm EIRP) require an Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) service that tells the Wi-Fi 6E infrastructure which channels and power levels can be used to avoid interference with incumbents. Note that there is no need for AFC indoors since low-power indoor Wi-Fi 6E APs are not subject to interference.
Wi-Fi 6 versus Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz) | |
|---|---|---|
| Band | 2.4 and 5.0 GHz spectrum. | 2.4, 5 and now 6 GHz spectrum (Devices must be 6 GHz enabled). |
| Features |
| Includes all features in Wi‑Fi 6 plus:
|
| Benefits | Increased efficiencies to provide greater throughput with the same number of APs, ideal for dense environments and large numbers of IoT devices. | Supports greater capacity and wider channels to support multigigabit traffic, ideal for high-definition video and AR/VR (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality). |
Wi-Fi 6E FAQs
What is driving the need for Wi-Fi 6E?
The growing demand to connect more devices to the network and the introduction of more demanding applications increases network traffic. Additional devices require more bandwidth, and organizations everywhere want faster speeds to support business applications. With device proliferation on a global scale, the need for additional available spectrum is critical.
How does Wi-Fi 6E help reduce network congestion?
To alleviate congestion on the current frequencies, Wi-Fi 6E-enabled devices are able to operate on the 6 GHz band (Wi-Fi 6E). Wi-Fi 6E promises enterprises more capacity and increased channel width with up to an additional 1200 MHz to maximize user and IT experiences on the network. Previously, only 80 MHz of available spectrum in 2.4 GHz, and 500 MHz in 5 GHz were available.
How will Wi-Fi 6E impact the Wi-Fi user experience and connected device performance?
By leveraging wider channels and the increased spectrum, Wi-Fi 6E can support more simultaneous users connecting to the network at high speeds with lower latency. It is ideal for demanding applications like high-definition video.
How are Wi-Fi 6E networks able to provide increased capacity?
Wi-Fi 6E networks provide increased capacity by operating on the 6 GHz band with 59 additional 20 MHz channels, 29 additional 40 MHz channels, 14 additional 80 MHz channels, and 7 additional 160 MHz channels, while using the following 802.11ax features: 8x8 uplink/downlink MU-MIMO, OFDMA, and BSS Color provides up to four times more capacity to handle more devices.