Although Wi-Fi 6E is still not widespread, a show of speed of the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 shows that it may make cables Ethernet outdated. Let's take a look at the proposed specifications and what it promises.
What is Wi-Fi 7? How fast will it be?
Wi-Fi 7 is a new specification for Wi-Fi devices currently under construction. It is based on draft template 802.11be, published in May 2021, which has not yet been finalized or approved by the FCC.
The most striking feature of Wi-Fi 7 is that it can make wired Ethernet connections obsolete for a specific category of both home and business users.
Wi-Fi 7 can theoretically support bandwidth of up to 30 gigabits per second (Gbps) per point access, which is three times faster than Wi-Fi 9,6's maximum speed of 6 Gbps (also known as 802.11ax).
Currently, the commonly available wired Ethernet technology reaches 10 Gbps ( 10GBASE-T ), although it basically does not exist in consumer appliances currently. And although there are higher speeds (like Ethernet terabit) in specialized settings, such as data centers, their arrival at home or in small businesses - if ever - it is probably far away.
So for current users both of Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 7 can replace the need for wired connections under optimal conditions.
What else is interesting about Wi-Fi 7?
In addition to the theoretical capabilities of Wi-Fi 7 incredibly fast speeds, the Wi-Fi Alliance plans to include other notable improvements to the Wi-Fi standard. Let's see what we know so far:
- Backward compatibility: Draft Wi-Fi 7 sets backward compatibility with older 2,4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, which means you won't need brand new devices or hardware to connect to Wi-Fi 7 .
- 6 GHz: Take full advantage of the new "6 GHz" band (actually 5,925–7,125 GHz), first supported on Wi-Fi 6E. The 6 GHz band is currently occupied only from Wi-Fi applications (although this may change) and its use results in dramatically less interference from the 2,4 GHz or 5 GHz bands.
- Lower delay: Draft Wi-Fi 7 targets 'lower latency and higher reliability' for time sensitive networking (TSN), which is essential for cloud computing (and cloud gaming). It is also a critical requirement for replacing wired Ethernet connections.
- MLO: Wi-Fi 7 offers Multi-Link (MLO) function with balancing loady and aggregation, which combines multiple channela at different frequencies for better performance. This means that a Wi-Fi 7 router will be able to use all the bands and channels available dynamically to speed up connections or avoid bands with high interference.
- Upgrades to 802.11ax: According to the draft specification, Wi-Fi 7 will offer immediate improvements to Wi-Fi 6 technologies, such as 320 MHz channel width (from 160 MHz to Wi-Fi 6), which allows faster connections and technology 4096 Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), which allows more data to be stored in each hertz.
When will Wi-Fi 7 be available?
According to a announcement from MediaTek, which claims to have already demonstrated the Wi-Fi 7 maximum speed mentioned above, Wi-Fi 7 products are expected to hit the market in 2023. A article in the IEEE Spectrum states in 2024 as a possible availability date.
In the meantime, you can already buy routers that support Wi-Fi 6 (and Wi-Fi 6E), which is still impressive compared to previous Wi-Fi standards.
Finally for our friends, let's say that Wi-Fi 7 does not have nothing to do with 5G, so do not worry about the effects on their health.