- Wi-Fi 7 provides channel widths up to 320 MHz, whereas Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 are limited to 160 MHz
- WBA to conduct field trials of technologies in real-life Wi-Fi 7 networks, which is open for all industry leaders
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has recently shared a report on Wi-Fi 7 and its impact for consumers, enterprises, Industry 4.0, medical, smart cities and other applications.
Wi-Fi 7 has diverse advanced capabilities that will improve the existing use cases or enable new ones that are impossible with existing wired and wireless technologies.
The report by WBA explores Wi-Fi 7’s major new capabilities and applications from its members Broadcom, CableLabs, Cisco, and Intel, such as:
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Double the bandwidth and three times the speed of Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 7 provides channel widths up to 320 MHz, whereas Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 are limited to 160 MHz. It also supports 4k QAM, which is an upgrade over prior standards. With wider channels and 4K QAM capabilities, Wi-Fi 7 can deliver speeds over three times faster than Wi-Fi 6. This is critical for enabling whole-home multi-gigabit Wi-Fi service.
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Advanced support for latency-sensitive use cases
Wi-Fi 7 devices can use multi-link operation (MLO) in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands to increase throughput by aggregating multiple links or quickly move critical applications to the optimal band using seamless links. Fast link switching allows Wi-Fi 7 devices to avoid interference and access Wi-Fi channels without delaying critical traffic. This and other new features also make Wi-Fi 7 ideal for immersive XR/AR/VR, online gaming and other consumer applications that require high throughput, low latency, minimal jitter, and high reliability.
Wi-Fi 7 Industry Trials Program
Tiago Rodrigues, President and CEO, Wireless Broadband Alliance, said: “Get Ready for Wi-Fi 7 showcases the revolutionary capabilities that will enable Wi-Fi 7 to help bridge the digital divide and enable new use cases across consumer, business, education, government, medical, industrial, hospitality, public venues and transportation. WBA and its members again lead the way in providing and educating the industry on the next generation of Wi-Fi 7 innovation.”
WBA has partnered with its members to conduct field trials of technologies in real-life Wi-Fi 7 networks. It is a massive opportunity for industry players. Trials are open for all. They are a crucial platform for mobile device and AP vendors, operators, and service providers to collectively test Wi-Fi 7 capabilities in critical deployment scenarios.
Participants can earn invaluable hands-on, real-world insights into deploying Wi-Fi 7 across operator, residential, and enterprise networks in these trials. As with its Wi-Fi 6 trials, the WBA will share comprehensive reports that offer indispensable knowledge and serve as a reference for industry stakeholders.
Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) is a global organisation that connects people with the latest Wi-Fi initiatives. The vision of the WBA is to drive seamless, interoperable service experiences via Wi-Fi within the global wireless ecosystem. WBA’s mission is to enable collaboration between service providers, technology companies, cities, regulators and organizations to achieve that vision.
