Wi-Fi Alliance® pilot trial showcases the transformative power of 6 GHz Wi-Fi for healthcare

Wi-Fi Alliance^® and Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University have completed a seven-month pilot trial demonstrating the value of full-band 6 GHz Wi-Fi^® (5925-7125 MHz) in healthcare. The trial focused on integrating 6 GHz Wi-Fi into the hospital's curriculum to enhance medical training and education in a high-density environment. In collaboration with Wi-Fi Alliance member partners Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, and Meta, the pilot successfully showcased the 6 GHz band’s potential to transform healthcare by enabling advanced Wi-Fi technologies that improve user experiences and operational efficiencies at their facilities. The trial offered unique performance insights and set the stage for other healthcare facilities looking to adopt cutting-edge technologies that enhance patient care.

6 GHz Wi-Fi empowers healthcare providers

The 6 GHz band has brought countless benefits to healthcare. With uncongested superwide 320 MHz channels and ultra low latency, Wi-Fi in 6 GHz enables the connectivity needed for real-time patient monitoring, seamless transmission of large medical files, and complex medical training using trailblazing technologies that require fast speeds, high throughput, and low latency like augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR). However, access to 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi varies with each regulation, meaning that some countries are unable to benefit from the latest advancements.

A demonstration during the trial further emphasized the importance of making the 6 GHz band available for Wi-Fi. The demo, 6 GHz Wi-Fi in healthcare: the future of AR/VR use cases for medical applications, explored two critical deployment scenarios using only the three 160 MHz channels available in the lower 500 MHz of the 6 GHz band versus the seven 160 MHz channels available in the full 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band. This demonstration was included as part of the larger trial and featured a limited deployment of 6 GHz on Ramathibodi Hospital’s network, whereas the pilot trial expanded the test to fully integrate 6 GHz in an active classroom with 200 medical students and faculty using the same deployment scenarios.  

Results of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi pilot trial

Data collected during the trial underscored the criticality of effectively using the seven available 160 MHz channels in the full 6 GHz band to significantly improve network data throughput while maintaining reduced latencies. The data concluded that making the full 6 GHz band available to Wi-Fi yielded more than a 2X increase in network data throughput and more than a 5X reduction in latency, versus only utilizing the lower 500 MHz of the 6 GHz band. Key takeaways from the trial include:  

• Reduced congestion: using full band 6 GHz allows hospitals and healthcare facilities to reduce network congestion and enable advanced AR/VR technologies while ensuring stable and fast connections crucial for real-time medical applications and data-intensive training
• Heightened experiences: full band 6 GHz is critical for maintaining an optimal user experience with high network loads
• Access to the full 6 GHz band: unlicensed use of full-band 6 GHz for Wi-Fi is necessary for Ramathibodi Hospital – and the Thailand healthcare industry overall – to maintain a leadership position in medical education and care in Southeast Asia
• Unlocking innovation: the latest Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 innovations deliver efficient, robust, and reliable service across diverse market segments – provided that regulatory decisions make this critical spectrum available to Wi-Fi

Additionally, user experience satisfaction ratings obtained from students and faculty showed a 3X improvement for using full-band 6 GHz Wi-Fi compared to using only the lower 6 GHz band.  One student was quoted as saying, “As a student, the sessions in the anatomy lab using the new Wi-Fi network were very productive. It would be great if I can get the same performance with Wi-Fi everywhere in the CNMI campus and at home.”

6 GHz Wi-Fi: a blueprint for innovation

Making the entire 6 GHz band available for Wi-Fi will not only benefit hospitals and healthcare facilities, it will also pave the way for other industries in countries that are currently determining regulations and policies for the band. "Wi-Fi Alliance is delighted to see clear and conclusive results demonstrating the significant impact of 6 GHz Wi-Fi in healthcare settings, and to emphasize the broader potential to transform other industries wherever the full 6 GHz band is available to Wi-Fi," said Kevin Robinson, President and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Today’s Wi-Fi delivers unmatched performance and reliability, and this successful trial further underscores how Wi-Fi can transcend boundaries and offer secure, economical, high-performance connectivity across numerous applications, industries, and regions.”