The race to have WiFi connections that are increasingly fast, stable and that allow a connection of more devices linked at the same time continues. The next WiFi standard promises a big leap, although it will not be until 2024 when it is expected to reach our technological devices. The features of the WiFi 7 promise a significant difference from WiFi 6. These are some of the biggest changes to come with WiFi 7.
While WiFi 6 is making its way to more and more devices and WiFi 6E access points have barely reached the market, there has been talk of WiFi 7 for a long time. Today we can find WiFi in hotels, cruise ships, in the AVE, airports, shopping centers, establishments and a long etc. Last month MediaTek announced that it will demonstrate WiFi 7 at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in early January. A digital innovation fair where you can see the most relevant changes brought by the WiFi 7 connection.
Extremely high performance
The evolution of WiFi 7, also known as 802.11be , will allow meeting the demand for wireless services that will continue to be presented in the future, including virtual reality devices, smart appliances, smartphones and computers, among others. According to data from the WiFi Alliance , currently more than 16,000 million devices use this standard.
WiFi 7 will increase the capacity and performance of wireless network links. We emphasize that this standard promises extremely high performance in its operation, which is a much higher speed than its predecessors.
Operates on the new 6 Ghz band
Another of the key points of WiFi 7 is that it allows routers and devices to operate not only in the two traditional bands 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz , but also in the new 6 Ghz band. This band allows better downloads and connectivity indoors and its deployment and implementation is still being studied.
This means that devices that have WiFi 7 will be able to enjoy a less congested spectrum , which will provide greater support and stability to Internet connections.
Up to 30 Gbps maximum theoretical speed
The use of the 6 Ghz band is perhaps one of the most interesting, where there will be quite a few differences with 2.4 and 5 GHz WiFi. Currently the 6 GHz band ranges from 5,925 MHz to 7,125 MHz (1.2 GHz spectrum in total). The 320 MHz blocks would not have to be continuous, but could be divided into, for example, four 80 MHz blocks spread over the spectrum. However, now what happens is that they have to be continuous.
This would be a dramatic improvement with a theoretical maximum speed of 30 Gbps . Which means that we will have a maximum speed three times higher, being able to use more than double the available frequencies.
CMU-MIMO technology
The WiFi 7 standard includes the CMU-MIMO technology, which means multiple inputs and multiple outputs , which allows, through more antennas, improvements in coverage during the emission of the wireless signal. This technology has been implemented from WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 through MIMO, it is possible to reach a greater number of antennas capable of responding to navigation solutions.
Mimo allows intelligent connections , since this technology looks for the most optimal way to transmit data. The signal modulation of WiFi 7 will be 4096-QAM following OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). The width of the channels will double from 160 MHz in Wi-Fi 6E to 320 MHz, with availability in three non-overlapping channels in the frequency ranges of 5.925 GHz to 7.125 GHz. In turn, MIMO will double going from 8 streams to 16 .
Lower latency
In terms of performance, WiFi 7 also offers lower latency, understood as a response time from one point of the connection to another. The lower the latency, the greater the stability of the Internet connection . This applies to the fact that when we go to make a video call to a streaming transmission, the image does not freeze, look pixelated or jump over the network.
The latest generation of WiFi promises latencies of less than 5 milliseconds , an aspect that video game lovers will love because it sets a more than appropriate stage to support online games that demand high performance.
These are all important and useful changes for a time when the cloud, online gaming and streaming demand greater capacity and connection stability.