WiFi sensing and IEEE 802.11bf: what the new standard means for events and temporary sites

What is WiFi sensing and what did IEEE 802.11bf change?

Every WiFi signal bounces off walls, furniture and people on its way from one device to another. When someone walks through a room, the way the signal arrives changes slightly. WiFi sensing measures those changes, mostly through channel state information (CSI), the detailed per-subcarrier amplitude and phase data that radios already use to keep a link working, and turns them into simple observations such as motion detected or room occupied.

Until recently this was mostly a research topic. Chipset makers usually kept CSI private, and each product that offered sensing did it in its own way. IEEE 802.11bf, formally Amendment 4: Enhancements for Wireless LAN Sensing, sets out a common method. According to the IEEE 802.11 Working Group timeline, it was approved by the IEEE Standards Board on 28 May 2025 and published on 26 September 2025.

• Bands covered: license-exempt spectrum below 7.125 GHz (the familiar 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz WiFi bands) and above 45 GHz (60 GHz class radios).
• Roles: a sensing initiator starts a session and a sensing responder takes part. Either can be an access point or a client device.
• Sensing by proxy: a client device can ask an access point to run sensing and report back the results.
• What changed: below 7 GHz the standard needs only MAC layer changes, so it can arrive in future firmware and chipsets that build on WiFi 6, 6E and 7 radios.

A published standard does not mean products are ready. It means devices from different makers now have a shared way to set up and exchange sensing measurements, which is the first step towards dependable features.

What could WiFi sensing do at events and temporary sites?

The use cases described in the technical overview of 802.11bf include presence detection, activity recognition such as fall or gesture detection, localisation and some health monitoring. For the events and temporary sites we work on, the realistic near-term uses are narrower:

• Room and breakout occupancy: knowing whether a breakout room, green room or registration office is in use, without adding a camera.
• After-hours motion alerts: flagging movement in a site office, storage container or warehouse outside working hours, as a prompt to check the temporary CCTV footage.
• Activity trends: a rough sense of when a zone becomes busy, useful for planning staff rosters at the next event.
• Energy and comfort: switching lighting or air conditioning in temporary offices based on presence.

Each of these works with the access points and client devices already on site, which is the attraction. It reuses the network rather than adding sensors.

What is WiFi sensing not ready for?

The same technical literature is clear about the limits. Detecting people who are sitting still is difficult. Accurate localisation needs range accuracy of around 0.2 metres, which points to 60 GHz radios rather than everyday WiFi. Published research still falls short of the performance targets many use cases need, and measuring sensing performance is not yet standardised.

If a product claims accurate crowd counting from WiFi alone, ask how it was tested, in what kind of space and with how many people. For capacity and safety decisions, ticket scans, gate counts and venue limits remain the reference.

Does WiFi sensing change how an event network is planned?

Not today. Sensing traffic uses airtime, and the technical overview notes that it must not significantly reduce throughput or increase latency for normal traffic. On a busy event network the priority stays with payments, ticket scanning, staff devices and live streams. Our planning numbers are unchanged:

• Allow about 50 devices per access point and roughly 900 square metres per access point in open areas.
• Count 1.5 to 2 devices per staff member, and about one device per person at public events.
• Keep each live stream on 10 to 20 Mbps of stable upload, with 1.5 to 2 times headroom.

A related and often misunderstood metric is the connected device count shown on a WiFi controller. It is a useful load indicator, but it is not a headcount: some people carry a phone, watch and laptop, others connect nothing. Our guide on how many access points you need explains how device counts translate into hardware.

If you want to trial sensing features at a recurring event or long-term temporary site, it is best treated as a separate project with its own network segment, run outside peak periods first, so it never competes with the systems the event depends on.

What privacy questions does WiFi sensing raise in Australia?

Sensing data looks anonymous because it does not record faces or names. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) explains that personal information covers information about an identified individual or one who is reasonably identifiable, and that data which is not personal on its own can become personal when combined with other information. Motion events matched to CCTV footage, staff rosters, ticket scans or device identifiers could reach that point.

• Decide what the sensing data is for before collecting it, and collect only that.
• Tell staff and visitors where sensing is used, as you would for cameras.
• Keep sensing data on a secured management network and set a short retention period.
• Apply the same security steps as other personal information held by the organisation, as described in the OAIC guidance on APP 11.

Our event WiFi security guide covers how management networks are kept separate from guest and payments networks.

What should event organisers and site managers do now?

1. Plan networks on current numbers. Size access points and internet for devices and applications, not for sensing.
2. Ask about sensing in new hardware. When replacing access points for a permanent venue, ask whether 802.11bf support is on the firmware roadmap, but do not pay extra for it yet.
3. Keep CCTV and counts where they matter. Use cameras, gate counts and ticketing data for security and capacity decisions.
4. Write a short privacy note before any trial, covering purpose, notice, access and retention.
5. Start small. A storage area or site office after hours is a low-risk place to learn what the technology can do.

If you are planning a temporary site or a recurring event and want to understand coverage, cameras and network layout together, send us the floor plan or site plan through our contact page and we will suggest a layout. A site survey is the usual first step for larger spaces.

Sources

1. IEEE 802.11 Working Group: Official project timelines (802.11bf approval and publication dates)
2. ANSI Webstore: IEEE 802.11bf-2025, Amendment 4: Enhancements for Wireless LAN Sensing
3. arXiv: An Overview on IEEE 802.11bf: WLAN Sensing (Du et al., 2022)
4. OAIC: What is personal information?
5. Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: Chapter 11, APP 11 Security of personal information

Event dates, prices and product details can change. Check the organiser or manufacturer before you plan around them. Planning figures are starting points; every network is confirmed against the actual site.