Enterprise products, solutions & services
IEEE 802.11be, more correctly known as Wi-Fi 7, is the newest generation of Wi-Fi. It is intended for very high throughput in order to offer much higher speed, capacity, and efficiency compared to its predecessors. Indeed, given these new features, Wi-Fi 7 will support scenarios such as high-definition video conferencing, large-scale IoT deployments and beyond.
1. Higher Data Rates
Improvement in Data Rates: Wi-Fi 7 significantly improves data rates. Wi-Fi 7 will be able to support nominal peak data rates of more than 30 Gbps, over four times faster than Wi-Fi 6. Following are some key technological enhancements to make this increase in speed possible:
• 4096-QAM (4K-QAM): In this modulation scheme, each symbol can carry 12 bits, increasing the theoretical transmission rate by 20% over Wi-Fi 6.
• Wider Channel Bandwidth: Wi-Fi 7 supports up to 320 MHz channel bandwidth, which is double compared to Wi-Fi 6.
2. Multi-Link Operation (MLO)
Wi-Fi 7 introduces Multi-Link Operation, allowing the creation of a single device able to send and receive data simultaneously across different frequency bands and channels: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz. This will further improve the network capacity and lower latency, making Wi-Fi 7 ideal for enterprise applications that require real-time data transmission.
3. Improved Efficiency and Capacity
Wi-Fi 7 introduces Multiple Resource Unit (MRU) technology, which greatly improves channel resource efficiency and reduces the waiting latency on the air interface. The Resource Unit (RU) is a unit of channel allocation that appeared with OFDMA introduced into 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6). In Wi-Fi 6, a user can be assigned only to one RU. In Wi-Fi 7, this will be extended to allow allocation of multiple RUs to one user. This is expected to enable more flexible use of frequencies, prevent interference, and increase throughput.
1. Higher Speeds
The most obvious benefit of Wi-Fi 7 is its extremely high speed. At a data rate more than 30 Gbps, Wi-Fi 7 will easily handle multiple high-bandwidth applications simultaneously, such as high-definition video conferencing, large file transfers, and cloud-based services.
2. Lower Latency
Multi-Link Operation by Wi-Fi 7 makes its latency much lower than expected. It will be very ideal for real-time applications such as virtual reality training, remote surgeries, and other mission-critical enterprise applications. The lesser the latency, the smoother and more responsive the user experience will be.
3. Improved Network Throughput
Supporting MRU and wider channel bandwidths, Wi-Fi 7 enables more devices to share the same network with less performance degradation. Indeed, this enhanced capacity is critical in environments where high-density, connected device ecosystems will be routine-for example, smart homes and offices.
Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi 6 brought some serious improvements over Wi-Fi 5, but Wi-Fi 7 takes these improvements to a whole new level. Key differences include:
Data Rates: Wi-Fi 6 only supports up to 9.6 Gbps maximum data rates, while Wi-Fi 7 can surpass 30 Gbps.
Channel Bandwidth: Wi-Fi 6 supports channels of only up to 160 MHz; Wi-Fi 7 supports channels of up to 320 MHz.
MRU: Wi-Fi 6 supports RU(one RU to one user) , while Wi-Fi 7 supports MRU(multiple RUs to one user).
Actually, Wi-Fi 7 is one huge leap in wireless technologies in terms of increased speeds, reducing latency, and expanding network capacity. And with more devices able to connect on Wi-Fi 7, the more we'll be expecting from wireless connectivity. Be it a case of managing a smart factory, conducting high-definition video conferences, or deploying large-scale IoT solutions, Wi-Fi 7 is poised to deliver the kind of performance and dependability that will be needed in the near future.
