Wi-Fi plays a central role in America’s daily operations, from powering personal connectivity in the home to facilitating digital workplaces, education, healthcare, small businesses, agriculture, manufacturing, and much more.
Without adequate spectrum for unlicensed use, America faces the possibility of Wi-Fi congestion, which would undermine the connectivity that keeps people productive, entertained, and informed. Not only that, but America will lose out on significant economic growth, given how many critical sectors rely on Wi-Fi.
One of those sectors is gaming — an industry now larger than movies and music combined. Wi-Fi connects millions of players worldwide, enabling real-time interaction, high-speed streaming, and new technologies that continue redefining entertainment.
Welcome to the next level
Gaming today is light-years ahead of where it was just a decade ago. What once revolved around solo console play now thrives on global, immersive, cloud-powered experiences. And at the core of this evolution is Wi-Fi.
Cloud-based services such as Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now have made it possible for players to ditch the need for expensive hardware and instead stream high-performance games directly from the cloud.
These experiences, however, are only as good as the networks behind them. Low-latency, high-speed Wi-Fi is essential for smooth gameplay. A weak or congested Wi-Fi signal can cause:
- Lag that disrupts real-time gameplay
- Choppy graphics and lower resolution
- Dropped connections that pull players out of the action
In gaming, milliseconds matter — and Wi-Fi delivers the fast, reliable connectivity that keeps the experience seamless.
Gaming on-the-go
Mobile gaming tells a similar story. Nearly 90% of mobile data travels over Wi-Fi, making it a foundational part of gaming on the go. Whether at home, on public transit, or in a coffee shop, Wi-Fi enables:
- Quick downloads and updates
- Real-time multiplayer competition
- Consistent, high-quality gameplay wherever players are
Meanwhile, innovations in virtual and augmented reality are setting even greater expectations for connectivity. These technologies require ultra-fast, low-latency Wi-Fi to deliver immersive and interactive experiences. From VR headsets to AR-enabled apps, Wi-Fi ensures that virtual worlds feel as real as the physical ones.
Powering the future of play
As gaming evolves, so too must our infrastructure. With more devices competing for bandwidth than ever before, Wi-Fi networks are under growing strain. Without adequate access to spectrum, latency and congestion could undermine the experiences gamers love and expect.
Wi-Fi is the digital backbone of the modern gaming ecosystem. It connects players to each other, to vast virtual worlds, and to the innovations that continue pushing entertainment forward.
To keep gaming fast, interactive, and inclusive, we must protect and expand the spectrum that powers it all — ensuring that Wi-Fi continues fueling America’s gaming experience for decades to come.
To learn more about the important role that Wi-Fi and unlicensed spectrum play in the broadband ecosystem, visit NCTA.com.
