It feels like just yesterday that Wi-Fi 5 was the latest breakthrough in wireless technology, while Wi-Fi 6 was on the horizon. Today, Wi-Fi 6 and 6E are widely accessible, while Wi-Fi 7 is beginning to emerge from some vendors. The pace of Wi-Fi’s technological advancement continues to accelerate, promising even more impressive innovations ahead.

What should we expect from Wi-Fi 7 in the coming months and years? Is it really that noteworthy, or is it just one more gimmick being used to attempt to make us upgrade our infrastructure and devices?

In this article, we look at the technologies that are making Wi-Fi 7 a reality, and what, in practical terms, that means for your wireless networks.

The process of technological development

In an article about the key differences between Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6, we examined the role of standardization and certification when it comes to Wi-Fi. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standardizes the technology within the framework of its IEEE 802.11 working group, while the Wi-Fi Alliance certifies Wi-Fi products using the Wi-Fi Χ generational notation for conformity to the IEEE standards to ensure interoperability.

Wi-Fi 7, based on the certification notation of the Wi-Fi Alliance, corresponds to the IEEE 802.11be standard. Development of this standard started in earnest several years ago, with an initial draft in March 2021 and a final version expected to be released by the end of 2024. Despite the standard not being finalized, many products based on the draft standards were announced as early as 2022, with retail availability actually starting in early 2023.

Although final ratification of the 802.11be standard is anticipated by the end of 2024, the technical requirements are essentially complete. As such, in January 2024, the Wi-Fi Alliance launched its “Wi-Fi Certified 7” program to certify Wi-Fi 7 devices, many of which are already available today.

Key technological advantages of Wi-Fi 7

Now that it’s here, what does Wi-Fi 7 deliver, and how does it measure up to the already established Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi6/6E generations?

Well, primarily, Wi-Fi 7 delivers speed… and plenty of it! So much so, that it has been officially dubbed “Extremely High Throughput” or EHT by the IEEE. Maximum theoretical throughputs of over 46 Gb/s can be achieved, although actual measured speeds are somewhat lower. Compare this with the maximum speeds of Wi-Fi 6/6E and Wi-Fi 5 of 9.6 Gb/s and 6.9 Gb/s, respectively.

This fivefold increase in speed is a result of three primary improvements over its predecessors:

• 4,096-value quadrature amplitude multiplexing (4096-QAM)
• Contiguous and noncontiguous channel bandwidths of up to 320 MHz
• Multi-Link Operation (MLO)

4096-QAM

Quadrature amplitude multiplexing is a modulation method used to encode data within a wireless electromagnetic wave. QAM comes in various orders or formats that are defined as multiples of two because the information that is modulated onto the electromagnetic wave is in binary. Higher-order QAM schemes can transmit higher data density using the same frequencies.

1024-QAM, which is used by Wi-Fi 6, can carry 10 bits of information per unit, while 4096-QAM, which is leveraged by Wi-Fi 7, can carry 12 bits of information per unit. This represents a 20% increase in throughput compared with its predecessor just from the encoding mechanism itself.

Channel bandwidths up to 320 MHz

Channel bandwidths are defined as the range of frequencies that can be used for a single channel. The basic unit is 20 MHz, but various Wi-Fi technologies can bond those channels together to achieve wider bandwidths and, thus, higher throughputs. Where Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 can bond up to eight 20 MHz channels to achieve bandwidths of up to 160 MHz, Wi-Fi 7 supports bonding of up to 16 channels for bandwidths of up to 320 MHz. In addition, Wi-Fi 7 is also able to bond multiple noncontiguous channels into single channels, making more efficient use of the available spectrum.

Multi-Link Operation

MLO is an advanced feature designed to significantly enhance network capacity by allowing devices to simultaneously send and receive data across multiple frequency bands and channels, including 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz. This capability not only increases data throughput but also reduces latency and improves overall network efficiency. By leveraging MLO, networks can better manage heavy traffic loads and provide more reliable connections, especially in environments with high device densities.

Some additional noteworthy features

More features of Wi-Fi 7 that are worth mentioning include:

• Support for the 6 GHz unlicensed frequency range recently made available to Wi-Fi.
• Multiple access point coordination and joint transmission, allowing more coherent coordination among access points as well as single client load sharing.
• Enhanced orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA): Standard OFDMA was introduced with Wi-Fi 6 and enhances efficiency by allowing multiple devices to share the same channel.
• Multi-user, multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO): This feature was enhanced in Wi-Fi 6 and expanded further in Wi-Fi 7 to support more simultaneous data streams.
• Target Wake Time (TWT): This feature, which helps devices schedule when they wake up to send or receive data to reduce energy usage, was introduced in Wi-Fi 6 and further optimized in Wi-Fi 7.
• Basic Service Set (BSS) coloring: Helps reduce interference by identifying overlapping networks and allowing devices to differentiate between them.

Comparison with previous generations

The following table provides a clear comparison of the technologies and capabilities of Wi-Fi 7 and its predecessors, so you can easily see what’s been improved in the new standard.

The bottom line

Wi-Fi 5 was the first wireless standard to bring speeds in excess of 1 Gb/s, while Wi-Fi 6 introduced the use of 6 GHz frequency bands and radically increased user densities and aggregate throughput. Wi-Fi 7’s primary enhancement is arguably its fivefold increase in device speeds and its ultra-low latency. This is especially useful for demanding applications requiring high bandwidth and low network delay, such as 8K video streaming, online gaming, virtual and augmented reality, telemedicine, and smart manufacturing, just to name a few.

So, should you replace all of your Wi-Fi 6E hardware with Wi-Fi 7 devices? Unless you are running some of the most network-intensive applications around, probably not. The fact that only about 10-20% of client devices in use support the 6 GHz band today, and even fewer support MLO and 320 MHz channel bandwidths, further supports delaying any upgrades, at least for the time being. The adoption rate of Wi-Fi 7 for client devices is expected to increase as more devices and networks are upgraded to support these new features.

A look to the future

Believe it or not, Wi-Fi 8 has already started to be talked about. Where Wi-Fi 7 focuses on extremely high throughput, Wi-Fi 8 will focus on ultra-high reliability (UHR), an ever-increasing requirement of today’s wireless networks. That said, with a predicted ratification date sometime in 2028, Wi-Fi 8 is still too far off to talk about in any practical sense.

Conclusion

Wi-Fi 7 is emerging and promises to revolutionize wireless connectivity with its unprecedented speeds, ultra-low latency, and enhanced capacities. Building upon the advancements of its predecessors, Wi-Fi 7 introduces technologies such as 320 MHz channel width, 4096-QAM, and MLO, making it ideal for demanding applications. As more devices and infrastructure are upgraded to harness these new features, Wi-Fi 7 will play a crucial role in meeting the increasing demands for high-speed, reliable, and efficient wireless connectivity in both consumer and enterprise environments. The future of wireless communications looks brighter than ever, with Wi-Fi 7 leading the charge into a new era of connectivity.

You may also like:

Wi-Fi 5 vs. Wi-Fi 6: key differences between the two

Experience lightning-fast Wi-Fi 6 with Grandstream GWN7665

Grandstream GWN7661: Superior Wi-Fi for homes, hotels, and everything in between