Melkote made the comment during a presentation of his keynote address at Aruba’s 2019 EMEA Atmosphere conference in Sibenik, Croatia.
He noted WiFi 6 will not only serve as the next iteration in terms of higher speeds, it is also an efficient technology.
The co-founder of the wireless network vendor went on to say WiFi 6 and 5G will be a powerful combination, helping extend visibility of cellular subscribers at enterprise venues, connect WiFi-only enterprise assets to the 5G core network and enable mobility across networks, among other efforts.
He explained: “One of the core problem definitions of WiFi 6 was not just about getting higher speeds but how to get more efficient with the scarce spectrum resource, especially in high density environments. That was the design framework for WiFi 6.
“As 5G becomes the next chain on the cellular side, when we migrate from LTE to the next generation, it will obviously deliver much higher performance for mobile devices from the tower down but increasingly what we are seeing is that to serve capacity needs, you have to bring together the WiFi technologies and cellular technologies in a converged manner.
“For the first time, WiFi has become an indicative part of the 5G radio access infrastructure. You can start to think of WiFi not only for your own private use but also have an on rack to 5G networks.”
As the global 5G race speeds up, global telecom operators are rushing to become the first to launch the next-generation cellular network, with investment in 5G network rollouts expected to reach $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
The rollout of 5G is forecast to contribute $700 billion to the global economy by 2030, according to the latest 5G Technology, Market and Forecasts 2019-2029 report.
Determined to lead 5G commercial deployments across the globe, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei revealed it has obtained 46 commercial 5G contracts in 30 countries globally.
Earlier this month, Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia announced 42 commercial 5G deals in place with operators around the world.
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