The 802.11ax WiFi-6E standard, also known as WiFi 6E, is an enhancement of the existing WiFi 6 (802.11ax) standard. It operates in the 6 GHz frequency band, which was previously not accessible for WiFi technologies. This new frequency band provides more bandwidth and less interference, resulting in faster data rates and more reliable connections. WiFi 6E offers a significant increase in capacity, with up to seven 160 MHz channels available. This is a considerable improvement compared to the two 160 MHz channels offered by WiFi 5 in the 5 GHz band. The 6 GHz band also has less traffic and interference from other devices, providing a cleaner and more efficient path for data transmission.
In terms of compatibility, devices must specifically support the 6 GHz band to utilise WiFi 6E. Older devices will not be able to access this band, but they can still connect to networks via the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. WiFi 6E also supports all the features of WiFi 6, including Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Target Wake Time (TWT), and 1024-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation). These features improve network efficiency, reduce power consumption, and increase data rates, respectively.