wireless protocols

gmyconos
Level 2

Hi

I'm shopping for a new laptop and I see that there is a new wireless protocol now being used (Wi Fi 6 will be replacing Wi Fi 5). Is this change something I should consider in my purchase of a new laptop, or will the change make little noticeable difference? Should it be a determining factor in my choice? How will it all affect the networking via TPG?

cheers

2 REPLIES 2
Shane
Moderator

Hi @gmyconos ,

 

Welcome to the community!

 

We raised this to our network engineering team to check if what Wireless Protocol is recommended to use for TPG's network, we'll provide you an update when it becomes available.

 

Regards,

 


@gmyconos wrote:

Hi

I'm shopping for a new laptop and I see that there is a new wireless protocol now being used (Wi Fi 6 will be replacing Wi Fi 5). Is this change something I should consider in my purchase of a new laptop, or will the change make little noticeable difference? Should it be a determining factor in my choice? How will it all affect the networking via TPG?

cheers


 

david64
Level 15

Hi @gmyconos .

Wifi6 is an extension of wifi5. It offers higher speeds, can support more users and some other features. 

You should check the laptops on manufacturers' and retailers' web sites. You'll find wifi6 on many models. Get wifi6 if the incremental cost from wifi5 to wifi6 is within your budget. Also depends on how you think you will use it. How many users are there? Streaming movies, gaming, network attached storage? Internet of Things?

But you need a wifi6 router to make use of it, otherwise your laptop will use wifi5. Check the router manufacturers' web sites (eg. Asus, D-Link, Netgear, TP-link); they're plugging the benefits. 

Check internet articles and computer magazines.

There might be a slight increase in browsing speed since wifi6 doesn't increase your internet speed, just the transfer between router and device. It might increase the utilisation of your internet connection since the router can handle more devices. If you use TPG's VOIP phone service, it might be a while before they provide a wifi6 router. Otherwise, the main consideration for a third party router is to support VLAN ID setting.

PS. IPv6 is a networking protocol which TPG don't use yet. It is different from wifi6.