Revisiting Wireless Internet Connectivity: 5G vs Wi-Fi 6
Edward J Oughton, William Lehr, Konstantinos Katsaros, Ioannis, Selinis, Dean Bubley, Julius Kusuma

TL;DR
This paper compares 5G and Wi-Fi 6, highlighting their complementary roles in future wireless connectivity, with 5G suited for wide-area coverage and Wi-Fi 6 for indoor use, emphasizing their coexistence and evolving boundaries.
Contribution
It provides a comprehensive revisiting of cellular and Wi-Fi technologies, analyzing their roles, similarities, and future prospects in delivering high-speed wireless Internet connectivity.
Findings
5G remains preferred for wide-area coverage.
Wi-Fi 6 is cost-effective for indoor deployment.
Both technologies will coexist and serve different use cases.
Abstract
In recent years, significant attention has been directed toward the fifth generation of wireless broadband connectivity known as `5G`, currently being deployed by Mobile Network Operators. Surprisingly, there has been considerably less attention paid to `Wi-Fi 6`, the new IEEE 802.1ax standard in the family of Wireless Local Area Network technologies with features targeting private, edge-networks. This paper revisits the suitability of cellular and Wi-Fi in delivering high-speed wireless Internet connectivity. Both technologies aspire to deliver significantly enhanced performance, enabling each to deliver much faster wireless broadband connectivity, and provide further support for the Internet of Things and Machine-to-Machine communications, positioning the two technologies as technical substitutes in many usage scenarios. We conclude that both are likely to play important roles in the…
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