The WiFi Alliance has approved of the Wi-Fi HaLow - a long-range version of Wi-Fi - that is key to boosting the agenda of Internet of Things (IoT), which, simply put, creates a connection between everything, everywhere, through smart technology.
Wi-Fi HaLow was introduced by the organization during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 4, with the promise of offering twice the range of today's WiFi standards, making it possible for connections to be made even through walls that were impossible to penetrate before and through other challenging environments, said the alliance on its website.
The organization, made up of around 700 businesses, is also set on launching a certification process for products that will have Wi-Fi HaLow access. They target for the new Wi-Fi to be available is 2018, but the products that support it can be made available earlier, PC World reports.
Wi-Fi HaLow is based on the pending IEEE 802.11ah specification. And while it will enable greater range of connection than the currently available Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, this tech's catch is that it cannot upload huge amounts of data quickly, as it is designed to offer small and occasional updates, according to International Business Times.
Wi-Fi Alliance also added that the HaLow will still adopt existing WiFi protocols and will still operate in the regular 2.4 and 5GHz bands, according to Engadget.
