By Claus Hetting, Wi-Fi NOW CEO & Chairman
The FCC continues to mull over the possibility of extending 6 GHz rules to allow client-to-client Wi-Fi communications (see our coverage here) – but what exactly would be the benefits and what new use cases might result? This week the so-called 6USC consortium that includes Broadcom, Apple, CommScope, Intel, Qualcomm and others filed their expansive vision of how all of this would work with the FCC. Broadcom says C2C would add immense value to both the utility and efficiency of 6 GHz Wi-Fi.
Imagine streaming 4k video directly between handsets and tablets or to smart TVs or supercharging your AR/VR glasses for full 360 degree spherical video mode. Or imagine a family of five watching a movie on synced AR/VR glasses connected to a set top box or media center instead of a TV or individuals sharing videos directly between devices in public areas. Sounds like some great use cases, right?
Well, we think so too. Except there’s a catch. No such use cases are permissible under current FCC 6 GHz rules. But all of them should be, says Apple, Broadcom, Intel, as well as nearly every household name tech giant in existence. The group filed their comments on C2C to the FCC in this comprehensive document, which is well worth reading for deeper insights into the world of C2C. The filing is part of a consultation kickstarted by the FCC last month looking into permitting C2C transmission in the 6 GHz band.
No need to always connect to the AP
In short: So-called C2C (client-to-client) communications is big deal because it would add ‘another dimension’ to the utility of 6 GHz Wi-Fi, says Chris Szymanski, Director of Product Marketing and Technology Strategy at Broadcom. “With the FCC considering client-to-client communications in the 6 GHz band, we’re even more excited about the possible future of Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7. In C2C communications, there is no need for the communication to go through an access point to connect the clients. It can simply occur from a wireless connection between the devices as long as they are operating in the coverage area of an indoor 6 GHz access point,” says Chris Szymanski.
And for certain types of use cases it indeed makes no sense to be forced to connect to the AP first. “Why would you want to login to for example a Wi-Fi network at Starbucks or other public location if all you want to do is transfer a file to your colleague’s device?” asks Chris Szymanski, and he’s right. It may very well also slow you down by a lot since public Wi-Fi connections may only deliver some tens of Mbps of speed while close proximity C2C could easily get you a Gbps or more, he says.
Other use cases could include onboarding of for example IoT devices that are not connected to an AP or exchanging passwords or other security keys between devices directly. Many other use cases are likely to emerge in time, Chris Szymanski says.
Boosting efficiency and lowering interference
But C2C is not only about utility and speed in support of new use cases. C2C would without a doubt make more efficient use of the 6 GHz spectrum: Some high-bandwidth transfers could be offloaded from the AP channel and hence reduce congestion. Such cases would even lower interference because C2C would use lower power levels due to closer proximity. All of this would also conserve energy, says the filing.
Arguably the only question left to answer before permitting C2C is as to whether or not such use cases would cause undue interference to incumbent users of the band beyond what has already been permitted by the FCC for the 6 GHz (at LPI).
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To make sure that never happens, the consortium is proposing the introduction of an ‘enabling signal,’ which must be decoded at a power level ensuring that these client devices could have communicated directly with an AP instead. This in turn means C2C use cases would never occur in locations where a client device could not communicate with an indoor access point. Because C2C communications are expected to occur at close range, devices will transmit for much shorter periods of time in C2C mode.
We think it’s all very clever – and elegant. And we’ll be watching this space carefully. With some concerted effort C2C could get the Wi-Fi industry – and not least billions of consumers and businesses the world over – a lot of new useful technology to work with.
/Claus.
