Comprehensive portfolio to address your Wi-Fi needs
Wi-Fi antennas provide connectivity solutions primarily for three common unlicensed frequencies bands which are assigned to the Wi-Fi spectrum: 2.4, 5.5, and 6 GHz. Wi-Fi antennas come in many shapes and sizes. Examples of omnidirectional antennas include internal/embedded, Laser Direct Structured (LDS), outdoor antennas, ceiling mount antennas, and rubber duck/dipole antennas. Types of directional Wi-Fi antennas include Yagi antennas, mini panel antennas, panel antennas, and parabolic dish antennas.
Recent developments in Wi-Fi have included the introduction of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, which is the first expansion of the available frequencies in decades. Enhanced security protocols have also recently been developed. Wi-Fi 7 is currently being discussed for imminent launch.
The two most common types of Wi-Fi antenna are omnidirectional (360° coverage) and directional (focused beam). Omnidirectional antennas provide 360° signal coverage around the antenna. This provides coverage all around the antenna but has a shorter range than a directional antenna.
Directional Wi-Fi antennas channel all their power in one direction. These can send and receive a wireless signal from a further distance but at a more focused coverage area. These antennas are often used for long range point-to-point Wi-Fi networks to connect between buildings, or for long-range point-to-multipoint Wi-Fi networks that have more than one directional antenna connecting with an omnidirectional antenna.
Antennas for Wi-Fi can be single band solutions that cover 2.4, 5.5, or 6 GHz. A second common option is dual-band 2.4 and 5.5 GHz that is included in one antenna with either a wideband and single port antenna or with a multi-port solution with a dedicated port for each frequency. More recent antennas will provide coverage of all three bands - 2.4, 5.5 and 6 GHz in order to meet the requirements of Wi-Fi 6E. Again, this coverage can be a single port and wideband antenna or a multi-port antenna solution.
In addition to the common or global 2.4, 5.5, and 6 GHz frequency bands, there are other bands such as the 860/960 MHz, 3.65 GHz, and 4.9 – 5.0 GHz, which vary by country/region, or in some cases the licensing of the frequency band.