Sanjay Seth here. It’s been a long week — just returned from DefCon (still haven’t unpacked my bag), powered through client calls and slammed my third cup of coffee before sitting down to write this. Not because anybody told me to. But because I’m really enthused over what Wi-Fi 6 is bringing to the party — especially when combined with Fortinet’s recent access points (APs).

You might be asking: “Is this another shiny new standard?” Nah. I’ve watched so many protocol updates come and go since the early ’90s. I began working with 10Base-T networks in ’93: back when screeching modems and mux rack cabling made up our daily toil. Since then, a lot has come to pass. But all joking aside, Wi-Fi 6 isn’t mere hype. It finally tackles real-world issues.

Let’s dig in.

What is Wi-Fi 6?

This isn’t simply a speedier iteration of Wi-Fi 5. It’s known officially as 802.11ax — but most people (including my team at PJ Networks) simply refer to it as Wi-Fi 6. Whether you’re maintaining a bank’s zero-trust architecture or battling Wi-Fi dead spots in a 20-story office tower, it delivers what you need:

• Higher throughput
• Lower latency
• Increased capacity (especially during peak hours of usage)
• Improvements in wireless security protocols that aren’t designed as if they were afterthoughts

Consider it a transition from a crowded two-lane highway to a six-lane expressway — and each vehicle (your devices) can drive smarter and faster.

And yes, this is backwards compatible. So no need for panic — your old IoT printers and dusty laptops won’t explode.

How It Enhances Security & Performance

Security

• WPA3 encryption: Say goodbye to the Swiss cheese that is WPA2. WPA3 employs stronger cryptographic algorithms, individualized encrypting of data, and defense against brute-force dictionary attacks. No more open Wi-Fi with pre-shared-key that half the office knows.
• Open Upgraded: On open networks (say in cafés, or whatever vendor Wi-Fi at your tradeshow next), data is still encrypted even without a password. This is huge.
• SAE (Simultaneous Authentication of Equals): Does away with the dodgy 4-way handshake in WPA2 with something that holds up.

And yes, a motivated adversary with network access and deep pockets can still take you down — but Wi-Fi 6 makes it much harder. For 99.9% of orgs? It’s a game-changer.

Performance

• Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA): A fancy format that allows multiple clients to share the same spectrum at the same time. Less wait time.
• MU-MIMO (Multi User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output): Essentially allows your AP to talk to 8 devices simultaneously — rather than one at a time.
• TWT (Target Wake Time): Perfect for the battery-powered IoT devices. And reduces flying noise pollution as well, cutting down on pointless airwaves chatter.
• Better per-user throughput despite dozens (or hundreds) of devices connected.

And in my opinion? It’s this efficiency of spectrum use that really matters when it comes to office deployments.

Fortinet Wi-Fi 6 AP Benefits

Now this is where I start geeking out a bit.

I have deployed Fortinet gear for almost a decade. And yes it works smoothly with FortiGate firewall. Sure, you have the Fortinet Security Fabric at your disposal. But what I care about most? They understand that security isn’t a feature you add on — security is baked into the AP from the very first handshake.

• You’re receiving enterprise-grade threat detection at the edge.
• All is centrally managed — zero-touch deployment via FortiCloud makes life so much easier. I’ve hand-configured APs in a data closet with a flashlight — trust me, not fun.
• Integrated WIPS (Wireless Intrusion Prevention System) — detects and neutralizes rogue APs, evil twin attacks, spoofing attempts in real time.
• Fortinet’s AI analytics: Their event correlation engine really works — reduces alert fatigue when you’re managing thousands of endpoints.

This made all the difference for one client — a retail operation opening nationwide. This data transitioned from regular Wi-Fi downtime and frustrated POS devices to smooth operations and zero breaches that originated from the wireless side in over 6 months. That’s rare.

And something else worth mentioning — these APs are just dumb fast. I’m talking gigabit speeds via wireless if your backhaul can handle it.

Wi-Fi 6 Deployment by PJ Networks

We’ve recently rolled out Fortinet Wi-Fi 6 APs in all kinds of industries — but what stands out?

• Three banks doing zero-trust transformation: We installed Forti APs in branch offices and we wired them directly into SASE architecture. Policies that are integrated with the identity of the endpoint instead of just IPs.
• Luxury real estate company: Required ultra-fast Wi-Fi in high-end condos without sacrificing tenant access from building systems. Utilized VLANs, FortiNAC for device profiling, and Fortinet 231F APs for coverage. Rock-solid.
• Manufacturing floor application: It is 50 degrees Celsius on the manufacturing floor in Gurgaon. Lots of metal. We utilized ruggedized APs with directional antennas, coupled with spectrum analysis to limit interference. Uptime? Smooth for months.

Every time — managed consistently, alerted to security in real time, diagnosed with quick resolution because of centralized logging.

Quick Take

For those of you skimming…

• Wi-Fi 6 delivers more speed with less latency and more devices per AP with WPA3 and smarter traffic management.
• Fortinet’s Wi-Fi 6 APs take enterprise security to every connection — even WIPS, IoT control and Fabric integration.
• PJ Networks is already rolling these things out at scale — for banks, real estate, industrial clients.
• The difference? This gives you performance, as well as cybersecurity. All without babysitting the network every Monday morning.