What is the Longest Range of Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi has come a long way since the early 2000s. Back then, you were lucky to cover a small office or the lounge room at home. Each generation: 802.11b (1999), g (2003), n (2009), then Wi-Fi 5 (2014) and now Wi-Fi 6 (2019), has pushed for more speed, more capacity, and greater reliability.

That’s where long-range Wi-Fi solutions come in. Instead of chasing raw speed, engineers asked: how can Wi-Fi reach kilometres, not metres? The answer: Wi-Fi HaLow®, officially known as IEEE 802.11ah.

Wi-Fi HaLow flips the script. It runs in sub-1 GHz spectrum, which lets it cut through obstacles and extend far beyond traditional Wi-Fi bands. And unlike cellular or other proprietary long-range networks, it keeps the simplicity of Wi-Fi, the same protocols, same basic framework. The difference? It has now been optimised for distance and low power.

What Defines Long-Range Wi-Fi?

Most standard setups rely on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, which covers a few rooms indoors or around 50–100 metres outdoors.

Jump to 5 GHz or 6 GHz (Wi-Fi 6E) and speeds rise – but range falls, sometimes struggling beyond 30 metres indoors.

By contrast, Wi-Fi HaLow is in a league of its own. Using sub-1 GHz frequencies, it stretches well past one kilometre in typical outdoor conditions, and much further with the right antennas.

Where standard Wi-Fi is about short-range high throughput, Wi-Fi HaLow is built for resilient connections across wide areas with minimal energy drain.

Morse Micro’s Role in Advancing Wi-Fi HaLow

One name that keeps popping up in this space is Morse Micro. We’re not just dabbling in Wi-Fi HaLow; we’ve been pioneers in pushing this tech forward.

Our flagship SoCs, the MM6108 and MM8108, are designed from the ground up to power Wi-Fi HaLow deployments. Think sensors across agricultural environments, security cameras on the far side of a factory yard, or smart city devices that need to stay online for years on battery power. These chips keep everything lightweight and efficient without sacrificing the reliability of a true Wi-Fi connection.

For developers, our HaLowLink 1 platform provides a turnkey path from prototype to product, supported by evaluation kits that make it simple to test before scaling.

Key Products:

• MM6108 and MM8108 SoCs, built for long-range, low-power Wi-Fi HaLow deployments

• HaLowLink 1 is a turnkey setup for developers and integrators for fast prototyping

• Evaluation Kits, suitable for testing and validating Wi-Fi HaLow

Applications of Long-Range Wi-Fi HaLow

Here are some areas where WI-Fi HaLow is already making a difference:

Agricultural Sites

Farms spread across hundreds of acres need sensors for soil, irrigation, and livestock monitoring. Running fibre everywhere just isn’t practical.

Security & Surveillance

Remote cameras can stay connected without trenching cable or relying on unreliable cellular signals.

Smart Cities

Parking meters, environmental sensors, and street lighting all can be tied in wirelessly over Wi-Fi HaLow.

Warehouses & Logistics

Keep forklifts, handheld scanners, and automated systems online in large, metal-heavy environments where normal Wi-Fi fails.

Industrial IoT Applications

Monitoring machinery, pipelines, or utility infrastructure across wide areas with low maintenance and long battery life.

Future Prospects and Developments

Momentum around Wi-Fi HaLow is accelerating. Analysts project over 100 million Wi-Fi HaLow devices will ship by 2029, with adoption climbing across industries that need reach and resilience.

With momentum building, it’s not just about niche deployments anymore. Wi-Fi HaLow is on track to become a standard part of wireless infrastructure, alongside 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi today.

Why Choose Morse Micro

If you’re planning a rollout – whether it’s cameras on the edge of a mine site, sensors across a logistics yard, or smart tech across a council district – Morse Micro has already solved the hardest part of your planned operations.

Our chips, dev kits, and reference designs make it possible to go from testing to deployment without burning time on trial and error.

Ready to extend your reach? Learn how Wi‑Fi HaLow can help. Contact us now.