Wi-Fi 6 Optimized for Industrial Efficiency

Why industrial IoT needs Wi-Fi 6 - now more than ever

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is no longer a luxury - it’s a requirement for industrial environments with dense device deployments. Factories, warehouses, and smart facilities increasingly rely on real-time data from sensors, actuators, and robotics. It is already proven over and over again that traditional Wi-Fi networks struggle with network congestion, collisions and latency spikes in high-density deployments. Legacy protocols also drain battery-operated sensors and edge devices. Wi-Fi 6 addresses these issues through OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) and Target Wake Time (TWT). All of this is well known.

However, Wi-Fi 4 still dominates the cost-conscious market segments for several reasons. The most common reasons cited by industrial device manufacturers to continue using Wi-Fi 4 modules are listed below.

1. I like Wi-Fi 6’s performance but can’t justify high costs.
2. Bulky Wi-Fi modules ruin my form factor. Oversized radio components force tradeoffs between functionality and device miniaturization.
3. My end-customer is still using old Wi-Fi infrastructure. I can’t adopt Wi-Fi 6 now.
4. Wi-Fi 6 is just about less data and low power consumption. I need both low power and high data rates.

If you nodded to more than one of the above lines, the NORA-W4 isn’t just another Wi-Fi module - it’s your escape hatch.

The industrial IoT landscape demands connectivity solutions that balance cost, performance, size and reliability. The u-blox NORA-W4 module answers this challenge by delivering Wi-Fi 6 capabilities tailored for cost-sensitive industrial applications. With its compact design, robust RF performance, and built-in security features, this module eliminates the compromises often associated with budget-friendly solutions. For industrial device manufacturers, NORA-W4 represents a strategic advantage in developing future-proof, high-performance systems without inflating costs.

Compact Design but Uncompromised Performance

At 10.4 × 14.3 × 1.9 mm, NORA-W4 is 32% - 68% smaller than comparable Wi-Fi 6 modules, enabling integration into space-constrained devices like handheld scanners or embedded sensors. Despite its size, the module delivers:

^{Image 1: NORA-W4 module placed on top of a standard CR2032 coin-cell battery}

• Tri-radio architecture: Support for Wi-Fi 6 (over 2.4 GHz), Bluetooth LE 5.3, and Thread/Zigbee. This allows product manufacturers to quickly create different product variants at different price points.
   
• Up to -102 dBm receiver sensitivity and stable radiation patterns: Reliable connectivity in RF-challenged environments like metal-heavy factories. Our patented PCB antenna in NORA-W4 has <2 dB variation across operating frequencies, critical for consistent coverage in demanding multi-metal industrial settings.
   
• Dynamic switching between high data rate and low power modes: Wi-Fi devices must sometimes switch fast between high data rate modes (to send and receive data bursts or firmware updates) and low power modes. NORA-W4 supports high data rates of up to 114 Mbps (using MCS9) but can also quickly negotiate sleep windows and enter into sleep modes using Target Wake Time.
   
• Full Wi-Fi 4 backward compatibility: Seamless operation in mixed-infrastructure facilities. Products built on NORA-W4 can scale up and use Wi-Fi 6 or scale down and use Wi-Fi 4 dynamically based on which access point they are connected to.
   
• Suppressed harmonics: When RF components are placed close to each other, to optimize for size, they tend to create spurious RF emissions. These emissions can be noticed in several small-sized but low-quality Wi-Fi modules on the market. Industrial device manufacturers can face non-compliance issues when they integrate poorly tested modules in their designs, especially when they integrate multiple radio technologies into their product.

^{Image 2: NORA-W4 keeps spurious emissions well under the accepted limits set by Regulatory Authorities despite its compact size.}

Security Built for Industrial Threats 

NORA-W4 integrates hardware-rooted security features essential for safeguarding industrial networks:

• Secure Boot + Flash Encryption: Prevents unauthorized firmware modifications.
   
• Trusted Execution Environment (TEE): Isolates sensitive operations like credential storage and cryptographic operations from other less critical tasks.
   
• Support for WPA3 and TLS 1.3: Enables authentication via X.509 certificates for large-scale deployments using the latest security protocols.

For industrial device manufacturers, the NORA-W4 isn’t just another Wi-Fi 6 module - it’s a strategic enabler. By choosing NORA-W4, you’re not just adopting Wi-Fi 6 - you’re investing in a connectivity foundation designed for industrial resilience.

Ready to redefine your industrial connectivity? Contact your local u-blox representative to start playing with a NORA-W4 evaluation kit. Come see the difference precision engineering makes with u-blox’s NORA-W4:
•    NORA-W40 with open CPU architecture for customized applications
•    NORA-W46 with u-connectXpress for fast time to market
•    Get started with EVK-NORA-W40