2026 UEN Tech Summit

 Radio spectrum has typically been the bottleneck of dense WiFi networks, but the opening of the 6 GHz band has enormous potential for performance increase. This performance is dependent on client adoption of the new spectrum, not just infrastructure. We'll look at data indicating the need for additional spectrum and the roadblocks to adopting it.

WiFi is the main way that endpoints connect to campus networks, and dependence on these networks continues to increase for classroom and university operations. Latency-sensitive applications such as real-time voice and video are now integrated into classroom settings, and large venues are increasingly dependent on WiFi for student and fan engagement. These settings can be challenging due to dense client counts and channel re-use, and is compounded by the diversity of BYOD clients. Even with this understanding, WiFi is disproportionately blamed for disruptions, but it can be difficult to measure the state of current designs. We want to address these questions: How often do classrooms have high channel utilization? What is the impact of high channel utilization? Are current wireless designs adequate for modern use cases? How many WiFi devices does each person have? What is the impact of implementing 6 GHz infrastructure? What are the challenges of 6 GHz designs? What are the challenges of 6 GHz client adoption? How are visitor networks affected by this? We will review data from a project that attempted to answer some of these questions. (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/10917/) Additionally, we will share observations from large venues with WiFi, such as LaVell Edwards Stadium, Marriott Center, and the BYU campus, as we have deployed 6 GHz infrastructure.