The new document, "RD-045: Wi-Fi requirements for Home Gateways - Automatic Channel Selection (ACS) and Repeaters," is intended to improve the clarity of ACS requirements and extend the coverage of WiFi networks without cabling.
ACS technology features vendor-specific aspects, meaning the function's performance can vary among different implementations. The new requirements for the home gateway aim to make ACS implementations more consistent and effective in selecting the appropriate WiFi channels in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Interference is also discussed.
"[Extending range] is typically done with WiFi repeaters, but today's devices are either not certified or are WiFi certified as access points (APs)," wrote HGI's Chief Technology and Business Officer Duncan Bees. "As multiple options exist for implementing WiFi repeaters, the end-user experience can vary between different devices. HGI's aim was to write down the core high-level requirements that when implemented will ensure a consistent user experience with repeaters."
Under HGI's new ACS requirements, each WiFi AP with ACS must implement an ACS mechanism for each supported frequency band, as well as when and how often the ACS solution should run, and the monitoring of background noise.
Additionally, WiFi repeaters must support WPS push button for association with the primary AP; be able to extend all the announced AP WLANs on its supported bands when using the WPS procedure; and, after WPS configuration, create a WLAN with the same SSID and security settings as the AP it is extending.
