For years, the conversation around Wi-Fi and the Internet of Things has been framed as a trade-off: performance versus power, scale versus simplicity, innovation versus practicality. The reality emerging in 2026 is far more constructive, writes Jeff Platon, Vice President of Marketing at Wi-Fi Alliance.
With Wi-Fi Alliance’s recent move to extend Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 capabilities to 20 MHz-only IoT devices, the industry now has a more inclusive Wi-Fi roadmap that recognises how IoT devices actually operate. At the same time, real-world deployments and field trials continue to clarify the role of Wi-Fi HaLow (based on IEEE 802.11ah) as a purpose-built extension of Wi-Fi into environments traditional Wi-Fi cannot economically reach.
Taken together, these developments point to an important conclusion: IoT growth will not be driven by a single “winner” technology, but by clearer segmentation and better alignment between use case and capability.
Wi-Fi 7 at 20 MHz: a necessary evolution for IoT
The expansion of Wi‑Fi CERTIFIED 7 to 20 MHz-only devices extends the interoperability, security, and performance benefits of certification to a growing market of IoT devices like sensors, wearables, appliances, and industrial devices that have adopted the latest generation of Wi‑Fi but do not require wide channels to deliver value.
By selectively enabling Wi-Fi 7 features such as Multi-Link Operation (MLO), MU-MIMO, and Multi-RU support at 20 MHz, Wi-Fi Alliance is taking a strategically significant step: bringing determinism, efficiency, and robustness to dense IoT environments while preserving device simplicity and power savings. This is a meaningful advancement for smart homes, factories, healthcare environments, and enterprise IoT deployments where reliability and battery life are paramount.
Just as importantly, it reinforces Wi-Fi’s role as the foundational connectivity layer for IP-based IoT, one that continues to advance without abandoning the realities of low-power, cost-sensitive devices.
Wi-Fi HaLow’s role: a purpose-built extension of Wi-Fi for IoT
At the same time, the last year of analyst research[1] and field trials[2] has solidified Wi-Fi HaLow’s importance to the expanding IoT device market and cutting-edge use cases, as no evolution of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz Wi-Fi can economically solve the coverage, penetration, and infrastructure constraints that Wi-Fi HaLow was designed to address.
Wi-Fi HaLow consistently proves its value where range, penetration, power efficiency, and infrastructure economics intersect:
- Large outdoor or semi-outdoor environments
- Campuses, warehouses, factories, agriculture, and smart infrastructure
- Scenarios where bandwidth and throughput are not critical, and extending traditional Wi-Fi coverage would require too many access points
In these environments, Wi-Fi HaLow’s ability to deliver Wi-Fi-grade security and IP-native connectivity over long distances — often with dramatically fewer infrastructure nodes that can each support thousands of connected devices — remains unmatched.
The key insight is directional: Wi-Fi 7 in 20 MHz strengthens Wi-Fi inward, optimizing density and determinism, while Wi-Fi HaLow extends Wi-Fi outward, redefining how far and how economically Wi-Fi can connect. By meeting the expanding requirements of the IoT ecosystem in different ways, these Wi-Fi technologies amplify the potential of emerging and existing products.
What has also become clear is that Wi-Fi HaLow represents a strategic bridge between traditional Wi-Fi and low-power, wide-area networks, enabling long-range, low-power connectivity while preserving IP networking, WPA3 security, and existing Wi-Fi operational models. In doing so, it unlocks new, monetizable use cases for silicon vendors, device manufacturers, infrastructure providers, and solution integrators.
We are witnessing unprecedented growth in the IoT market, which is transforming industries and everyday lives through connected devices. However, diverse use cases require an equally diverse set of connectivity solutions. Traditional Wi-Fi and cellular technologies, while established, struggle to efficiently serve the unique demands of some IoT applications, such as low power consumption, long range, penetration through dense walls and high device density. Wi-Fi HaLow directly addresses these unmet needs, becoming an essential enabler for the emerging IoT landscape.
The real opportunity: architectural clarity
For Wi-Fi Alliance members, the most important opportunity is not to position these technologies against each other, but to frame them as architectural building blocks within a unified Wi-Fi strategy.
Wi-Fi 7 (20 MHz) for STA strengthens performance, and reliability in dense indoor IoT environments
Wi-Fi HaLow extends Wi-Fi into places where coverage, penetration, and power efficiency dominate the requirements
Together, they reduce the need for parallel connectivity stacks and simplify operations for enterprises and service providers
This matters because organisations are no longer optimising for individual radios; they are optimising for total system cost, manageability, and long-term scalability.
Defining the future of IoT connectivity
The IoT market has seen no shortage of bold claims. What it needs now is precision.
Wi-Fi Alliance’s move to certify Wi-Fi HaLow and Wi-Fi 7 features for 20 MHz-only STA devices is a strong signal that Wi-Fi is adapting to how IoT works. Wi-Fi HaLow’s steady progress shows that range and power efficiency can coexist with IP-native simplicity.
Wi-Fi’s strength has always been its ability to evolve without fragmenting. With Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi HaLow advancing in parallel, the opportunity is not to declare a winner — but to enable smarter choices. That is where sustainable growth will come from.
[1] Market Analyst Research: ABI Research, January 2026: Wi-Fi HaLow-enabled device shipments are projected to grow at a 45% CAGR through 2030, reaching 124 million annual shipments.
Wireless Broadband Alliance, January 2026: 62% of industry leaders are more confident in Wi-Fi investment than 12 months ago. Omdia, September 2025: This report explicitly identifies the “Connectivity Gap” addressed by HaLow—it provides a middle ground for applications needing more bandwidth than LoRaWAN but more range than 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.
[2] Field Trials & Performance Studies: MDPI Electronics, July 2025: “Optimising Wi-Fi HaLow Connectivity: A Framework for Variable Environmental and Application Demands” provides empirical data on HaLow’s performance in Central Business Districts (CBDs) and forested environments, proving its sub-GHz signals overcome the penetration constraints of higher-frequency bands. Morse Micro Record-Setting Trial, 2024-2025: Cite their high-profile 3 km video call demonstration in an urban environment. Chounos, et al., August 2025: “Scalability and Performance Evaluation of IEEE 802.11ah IoT Deployments: A Testbed Approach” discusses power efficiency and network scalability by supporting up to 8,000 devices per AP.
Author biography:
Jeff Platon is Vice President of Marketing at Wi-Fi Alliance, where he leads global marketing strategy, brand development, and market engagement to advance the adoption and success of Wi-Fi technologies worldwide. In his role, Jeff oversees the teams responsible for commercialisation of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED programmes, member engagement, and demand generation. Prior to joining Wi-Fi Alliance, Jeff held senior marketing leadership roles at companies including Accuris, Hoxhunt, Cisco, and McAfee.
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