IEEE 802.11 ax: Highly Efficient WLANs for Intelligent Information Infrastructure

Recently, IEEE 802.11 ax, introducing the fundamental improvement of WLANs, was approved as the next generation WLAN technology. Satisfying tremendous user demands for user experience, IEEE 802.11 ax will fuel the future intelligent information infrastructure to serve big data transportation and diverse smart application scenarios. In this article, we overview the key technology features of IEEE 802.11 ax such as OFDMA PHY, UL MU-MIMO, spatial reuse, OFDMA random access, power saving with TWT, and STA-2-STA operation, and explain translating these features to enhance user experience, highlighting the design principles to facilitate smart environments and identifying new technological opportunities.