Keynote by Wi-Fi Alliance: Where Wi-Fi Expands the IoT Opportunity | TTC 2026

Wi-Fi's case for IoT is its installed base and certification: 25.7 billion devices, natively IP, and Wi-Fi HaLow adding range and low power below 1 GHz. Luis del Valle Alemán (Wi-Fi Alliance) Keynote · The Things Theater, The Things Conference 2026, Amsterdam, 22 September 2026 Luis del Valle Alemán, Director of Business Development EMEA at the Wi-Fi Alliance, argues that Wi-Fi's value for IoT lies in more than 25.7 billion devices in use, 4.1 billion shipped a year, and certification that makes devices from different vendors behave the same. Wi-Fi can serve as the device, gateway or infrastructure layer, is natively IP end to end, and Wi-Fi HaLow is "purely Wi-Fi" with extra range and lower power. He is candid that a new Wi-Fi generation takes three to five years to reach market, so requirements should come early. In the Q&A he names HaLow's first fit: taking Wi-Fi outside the building to yards, EV chargers and perimeter security. Chapters 0:00 Bring your requirements to Wi-Fi 1:10 25 years, four frequency bands 1:53 25.7 billion devices in use 2:38 Working with Bluetooth and CSA 3:05 Device, gateway and infrastructure 3:20 Wi-Fi HaLow: range and low power 4:11 Certification: no surprises 5:06 Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 8 and the 3-5 year cycle 6:45 Natively IP, with Matter on top 8:05 Unsynchronized Service Discovery 9:37 Q&A: where HaLow fits first 11:41 Q&A: HaLow in large buildings Mentioned in the talk • Wi-Fi Alliance: https://www.wi-fi.org Try The Things Stack LoRaWAN Network Server: https://www.thethingsindustries.com/stack/plans/ Start building LoRaWAN solutions with The Things Network: https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/ Scale with The Things Industries: https://www.thethingsindustries.com/ Join The Things Conference: https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/conference/ Thanks for watching! #TheThingsConference #LoRaWAN #IoT