Bangkok, Thailand – December 9, 2024 – Wi-Fi Alliance® and Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University successfully completed a seven-month long pilot trial that showcased 6 GHz Wi-Fi® technologies that will transform the future of healthcare. This project demonstrates that full band 6 GHz (5925-7125 MHz) availability sets the foundation for healthcare facilities across the region and world to modernize healthcare services and adopt advanced Wi-Fi technologies that improve user experience and operational efficiency at their facilities. Unlocking the entire 6 GHz band will not only benefit hospitals and healthcare facilities but will also offer many advantages for other industries in countries awaiting regulatory and policy decisions around 6 GHz unlicensed use.
Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital and Wi-Fi Alliance – along with Wi-Fi Alliance member partners Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, and Meta –presented the results of the pilot trial that underscored full band 6 GHz Wi-Fi’s value in enhancing teaching and learning capabilities to doctors and medical students. Full band 6 GHz was fully integrated with the hospital’s curriculum and offered performance insights from medical students and faculty that used advanced connectivity technologies in a dense environment for medical training and educational purposes.
"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.”
“We are proud to welcome our partners from the Wi-Fi Alliance and stakeholders such as the NBTC and the USTDA, along with our esteemed member partners Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, and Meta. Together, we are here to explore the potential of advanced Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality applications in healthcare settings enabled by the unprecedented capabilities of 1200 MHz spectrum in the 6 GHz band. We will also facilitate insightful discussions with healthcare industry leaders, regulators, and innovators. Their expertise will provide us with the broader context necessary to understand the implications of integrating these technologies across the healthcare landscape.” – Clinical Professor Artit Ungkanont, M.D., Dean at Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
“During this workshop, we are proud to share the pilot results, demonstrating our readiness to lead in this innovation. Collaboration is a cornerstone of driving a paradigm shift in Thailand's healthcare services and medical education. This project will foster the growth of telemedicine, immersive medical training, research development, and improved patient engagement, all powered by the cutting-edge capabilities of Wi-Fi 6E technology.” – Assistant Professor Sithakom Phusanti, M.D., Assistant Dean for Policy and Planning and Team Lead of the Wi-Fi 6E Technology Projects in Healthcare and Education at the Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital
Key takeaways from the pilot trial include:
- Using full band 6 GHz, hospitals and healthcare facilities can reduce network congestion and support advanced AR/VR technologies while ensuring stable and fast connections crucial for real-time medical applications and data-intensive trainings.
- Full band 6 GHz is critical for maintaining an optimal user experience for high network loads.
- Unlicensed use of full band 6 GHz for Wi-Fi is needed for Ramathibodi Hospital – and the Thailand healthcare industry overall – to maintain a leadership position in medical education and care in Southeast Asia.
- The latest Wi-Fi innovations in Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 are fully capable of delivering efficient, robust, and reliable service across diverse market segments, provided regulatory decisions enable this critical spectrum access.
Earlier this year, a demonstration – 6 GHz Wi-Fi in healthcare: the future of AR/VR use cases for medical applications – highlighted two deployment scenarios using only the three 160 MHz channels available in the lower 500 MHz of the 6 GHz band (lower 6 GHz band) versus the seven channels available in the full 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band (full band 6 GHz). The demonstration was a limited deployment of 6 GHz on Ramathibodi Hospital’s network whereas the most recent pilot trial fully integrated 6 GHz in an active classroom with 200 medical students and faculty using the same deployment scenarios.
At the end of the pilot trial:
- User experience satisfaction ratings were obtained from students and faculty that showed a three-time improvement for using full band 6 GHz compared to only the lower 6 GHz band.
- Data collected over the course of the pilot trial showed more than a two-time increase in network data throughput and more than a five-time reduction in latency when using full band 6 GHz versus the lower 6 GHz band.
- The pilot trial underscored the criticality of effectively using the available seven 160 MHz channels in the full 6 GHz band which significantly improves network data throughput while reducing network latency delays, two key metrics for improving user experience and maximizing network efficiency.
“HPE Aruba Networking is proud to have partnered with Wi-Fi Alliance and Ramathibodi Hospital to showcase the transformative potential of 6 GHz Wi-Fi in healthcare. By leveraging the full 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band, we can empower healthcare institutions to deliver superior patient care, facilitate cutting-edge medical research, and optimize operational efficiency. This initiative demonstrates what can be achieved with access to the unlicensed use of the full 6 GHz band and showcases Thailand’s position at the forefront of healthcare technology.” – Prakun Laohakittikul, Country Manager, HPE Aruba Networking Thailand
"As a participant in this groundbreaking initiative, Intel recognizes the transformative potential of 6 GHz Wi-Fi in shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. We firmly believe that strategic spectrum allocation, ensuring technology neutrality between licensed and unlicensed use, is key to unlocking innovation. This successful collaboration highlights the critical importance of unlicensed access to the full 6 GHz band, which is essential for enabling high-performance connectivity, fostering technological advancements, and ultimately driving Thailand's economic and social prosperity.” – Worapat Patram, Senior Director, Government, Policy and Trade, APJ, Intel Corporation
Additional support for this project has been provided by The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
About Wi-Fi Alliance® | www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 80,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the Internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.
About Ramathibodi Hospital
The Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University has a long-standing tradition of providing top-notch medical care. With a dedicated team of highly skilled healthcare professionals, the hospital offers a wide range of specialized services, from general practices to complex medical procedures. The institution's unwavering commitment to patient-centered care ensures that each individual receives the highest standard of treatment in a compassionate and supportive environment. As a hub of medical research and innovation, the institute’s state-of-the-art research facilities and collaborative environment foster groundbreaking studies in various fields, including genomics, regenerative medicine, and public health.
The Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute was established to advance medical education and innovation. Officially inaugurated in December 2017 in Bangplee, Samutprakarn, CNMI spans over 100 acres, serving as a state-of-the-art medical institute dedicated to fostering academic excellence and supporting the education of medical students. Renowned for its comprehensive and progressive educational programs, the institute offers a diverse range of undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate courses aimed at cultivating the next generation of healthcare professionals. By integrating advanced technologies, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), into its clinical anatomy curriculum, CNMI provides students with practical, immersive learning experiences in a controlled environment, ensuring they are well-prepared for real-world medical challenges.
