It seems like just yesterday that Wi-Fi 6 hit the market, with Wi-Fi 6E not far behind. Now, the wireless networking market is already looking to the next big standard: Wi-Fi 7. What does this new technology offer, and how does it differ from its predecessors?
What is Wi-Fi 7?
Technically known as 802.11bn, Wi-Fi 7 is the latest in a series of wireless networking standards from the IEEE. This is what brings your emails, video, and audio to your laptop or phone when you're not plugged into a wired network, and the IEEE keeps pushing the envelope. It launched Wi-Fi 6 in 2019, followed by Wi-Fi 6E in 2021. The latter used a new block of radio frequency surrounding the 6GHz band, which gave it more capacity.
Wi-Fi 7's biggest improvement is its speed. Wi-Fi 6 offered a maximum theoretical throughput of 9.6Gbps, while 6E supports more devices thanks to its extra spectrum. Comparatively, the Wi-Fi 7 will shift your data at an eye-popping 46,120 Mbits/sec. It uses the same 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz channels as its immediate predecessor, but boosts it speed by using radio channels in the 6GHz frequency that are double the width of Wi-Fi 6E. It can also use multiple channels at once across multiple frequencies for a single data connection.
There's a problem, though; regulation. The UK's telecommunications regulator OFCOM is in charge of how the radio frequency spectrum is licensed here. It has licensed the lower part of the 6GHz band (5945-6425 MHz) for consumer use, it has not yet licensed the upper part, from 6425 to 7125 MHz. Moreover, it has said that it would rather not open it up for consumer use, at least in the short term.
This leaves only half of the 1200Mhz frequency bandwidth available for us, making fewer channels available for both 6E and for Wi-Fi 7. The newer standard is still usable but possibly less functional with only half the bandwidth. With its 320MHz-wide channels, Wi-Fi 7 only has one available channel in the UK until OFCOM frees up the upper 6GHz frequencies.
Still, Wi-Fi 7 does use some other networking tricks to boost its performance. These include 4K QAM, a technology that allows it to pack more signals into its radio communications. It also uses techniques to reduce the time that it takes for a response between the access point and the endpoint device in a wireless connection. That has ramifications for low-latency pursuits like video streaming, VoIP, gaming, and even virtual reality. So even with the UK's thinner frequency options, you're likely to see better performance than under Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E.
When can we get it?
Officially, not until late 2024, when the IEEE expects to ratify the Wi-Fi 7 standard. Unofficially, now. As usual with Wi-Fi standards, vendors often release pre-ratification chip sets that they say will be forwards-compatible with the standard when the IEEE officially signs it off. Broadcom already has pre-standard Wi-FI 7 silicon, and vendors are already releasing gear based on it.
There won't be much point in buying Wi-Fi 7 access points until suitable client-side devices are there to take advantage of it. Companies including Lenovo and Acer are already promising laptops with pre-standard Wi-Fi silicon.
Do you need Wi-Fi 7? With Wi-Fi 6 adoption still growing fast, this isn't a decision that even the earliest adopters need to make for at least a year, with most businesses not mulling an upgrade for far longer.
