Boingo and Mettis Aerospace Test Wi-Fi 6 for Airports and Factories

An airport operator in California and a British aerospace manufacturer are among the first organizations to put Wi-Fi 6 networks to the test. Boingo Wireless has begun testing Wi-Fi 6 access points and compatible smartphones at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, it announced earlier this month, while Mettis Aerospace says it will begin its own trial of the new protocol at its manufacturing facility in Redditch, England, in the second half of this year.

“We’re still defining what the success criteria will be,” says Mettis IT head Dave Green, but the firm plans to test the next-generation of Wi-Fi for a few applications: collecting sensor data from machines on the factory floor, allowing staff to use augmented reality-enabled tablets to troubleshoot problems, and transmitting live video feeds from harder-to-reach areas on the factory floor. Green says they know these applications will require low latency—one of Wi-Fi 6’s improvements over its predecessor—and the ability to handle hundreds of simultaneous connections at once—another of the standard’s selling points.