WiFi 7 has already been in production and most major vendors offer consumer and commercial AP that support the protocol. Of course, to take advantage of any WiFi protocol you need both the access point (AP) and the devices to support WiFi 7. Some of the latest iPhone and Android phones as well as laptops and tablets support WiFi 7. Although, currently this is a small percentage of the total device count out there. Like every new protocol, it will take a few years for older devices to be phased out and new ones to dominate the market.
Like all previous wireless protocols, WiFi7 came to address new demanding applications like augmented reality, 8K video streaming, and cloud gaming, that need faster and more reliable wireless connectivity. Let’s take a look at what advancements WiFi 7 introduces in wireless networks, and how it addresses these needs.
What is new in WiFi 7?
WiFi 7, officially known as IEEE 802.11be or Extremely High Throughput (EHT), represents the latest WiFi protocol. Building upon the foundations of its predecessor WiFi 6E, this new standard introduces several groundbreaking features and improvements that significantly enhance wireless performance, reliability, and efficiency.
Speed and Bandwidth
The most notable improvement in WiFi 7 is its theoretical maximum speed of up to 46 Gbps, a dramatic increase from WiFi 6’s 9.6 Gbps. This exponential jump in speed is achieved through several technical advancements:
- Wider Channels: WiFi 7 supports 320 MHz channels, double the width of WiFi 6’s 160 MHz channels. These wider channels allow for significantly more data transmission in a given time period.
- Higher QAM: The new standard implements 4096-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), up from WiFi 6’s 1024-QAM. This enhancement enables more data to be transmitted in each signal.
- Multi-Link Operation (MLO): One of WiFi 7’s most innovative features, MLO allows devices to simultaneously transmit and receive data across different frequency bands and channels.
- 16×16 Spatial Streams (SS): This means that APs could use up to 16 antennas to communicate with multiple client devices at the same time or to aggregate data and increase throughput.
End-user devices are not going to support all these new features, but they become much more important for AP enabling them to serve many more clients in dense environments.
Multi-Link Operation (MLO)
MLO deserves special attention as it fundamentally changes how devices connect to wireless networks. Instead of being limited to a single band at a time, devices can now:
- Aggregate multiple channels for increased throughput
- Switch between channels dynamically to avoid interference
- Load balance traffic across different bands for optimal performance
- Maintain reliable connections even if one channel experiences interference
This capability significantly improves both speed and reliability, making WiFi 7 particularly well-suited for applications that require consistent, high-bandwidth connections.
Preamble Puncturing: Maximizing Spectrum Efficiency
Preamble puncturing is one of WiFi 7’s most sophisticated new features. This technology represents a fundamental shift in how WiFi handles spectrum usage and interference for dense environments:
Puncturing allows WiFi 7 devices to selectively avoid portions of a channel that are already in use or experiencing interference, while still utilizing the remaining clear portions of the spectrum. Think of it as a highway where, instead of closing all lanes due to an accident in one lane, traffic can still flow through the open lanes.
How it Works:
- The system identifies portions of the channel occupied by other devices or interference
- Instead of abandoning the entire channel, it “punctures out” (excludes) just those specific frequencies
- Data transmission continues on the remaining clean portions of the channel
- This process happens dynamically and can adapt to changing interference patterns
Key Benefits:
- More efficient spectrum usage in crowded environments
- Better coexistence with other wireless technologies
- Improved channel utilization in the presence of interference
- Reduced need to switch channels when interference is detected
This capability is particularly powerful when combined with WiFi 7’s support for 320 MHz channels. Even if portions of these wide channels are unavailable, puncturing allows devices to still make effective use of the remaining bandwidth, rather than falling back to narrower channels as previous WiFi generations would do.
Reduced Latency
WiFi 7 introduces several mechanisms to reduce latency, making it ideal for real-time applications:
- Improved Scheduling: Enhanced resource scheduling algorithms minimize wait times for data transmission
- Multi-RU Puncturing: Allows devices to work around interference more efficiently
- Coordinated Multi-User MIMO: Better handling of multiple simultaneous connections
These improvements result in lower latency compared to previous generations, with a target latency lower than 10ms.
Real-World Applications
The capabilities of WiFi 7 enable numerous exciting applications:
Immersive Extended Reality (XR)
The combination of high bandwidth and low latency makes WiFi 7 perfect for wireless VR and AR experiences. Users can enjoy:
- Wireless VR headsets with crystal-clear 8K resolution per eye
- Real-time AR overlays with minimal delay
- Multi-user VR environments with seamless interaction
Cloud Gaming and Remote Computing
WiFi 7’s improvements address the key challenges of cloud gaming and remote computing:
- Near-instant response times for cloud-based gaming
- Stable connections for remote desktop applications
- Support for multiple simultaneous high-definition streams
Smart Home and IoT
The new standard’s capabilities benefit smart home deployments:
- More efficient handling of numerous connected devices
- Better coverage throughout larger homes
- Improved battery life for IoT devices through more efficient data transmission
Conclusion
WiFi 7 marks a significant milestone in wireless communication technology. Its combination of speed, reduced latency, and innovative features like MLO sets the stage for the next generation of wireless applications and experiences. While the full rollout and adoption of WiFi 7 will take time, its impact on how we connect and interact with technology will be profound and long-lasting.
If you’re approaching your wireless replacement cycle, WiFi 7 is likely the best option to consider. However, some of its key features—such as MLO and preamble puncturing—may not yet be available across all WiFi vendors and could be introduced later through software updates. That’s perfectly fine, as the number of WiFi 7 devices currently in use represents only a small fraction of your target user base.
WiFi 6E was a big leap in WiFi performance since it introduced the 6 GHz spectrum, but some of the other features, such as MU-MIMO came underbaked at least at the beginning. Similarly, I won’t be surprised if MLO and preamble puncturing might need a few cycles of software and hardware updates to live up to their expectations.
If you’re looking to future-proof your network or boost its performance today, the NetBeez WiFi monitoring agent provides the tools you need for a fast, reliable, and seamless WiFi experience. With automated wired and wireless testing, proactive alerts, and detailed historical insights, it helps you detect and resolve issues before they affect your users.
