What is Wi-Fi 7? The New, Faster Standard!

Wi-Fi 7 is the latest innovation in Wi-Fi standards. Wi-Fi 7 takes speeds to a new height, with speeds up to 5.8 GBPS, according to Intel. Wi-Fi 7 also allows for multiple connections, providing speed and stability. For users, this means more reliable and more responsive Wi-Fi connections.

Wi-Fi 7: The 4-Lane Highway

• Wi-Fi 7 (also known as 802.11be) turbocharges speeds by packing more data into each transmission.
• Imagine your old 2-lane road—efficient, but sometimes congested. Now, Wi-Fi 7 rolls in with 320 MHz channels, doubling the size of previous generations. It’s like your 2-lane road magically expands to a 4-lane highway!
• Result: A potential maximum data rate of nearly 5.8 Gbps for your typical Wi-Fi 7 laptop. That’s 2.4 times faster than Wi-Fi 6/6E’s 2.4 Gbps.

4K QAM: Self-Driving Cars in Each Lane

• 4K QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) is the secret sauce. It densifies data signals.
• Picture self-driving cars crammed together in each lane, maximizing space. That’s 4K QAM—embedding more data than Wi-Fi 6/6E’s 1K QAM.
• Result: High-quality 8K video streaming becomes seamless, and massive 15 GB file downloads take just around 25 seconds (compared to a whole minute with older Wi-Fi tech).

MLO: The Wi-Fi 7 Supercar

• Legacy Wi-Fi devices are like cars that stick to one highway at a time, switching routes if traffic gets heavy.
• But Wi-Fi 7? It’s a supercar! It simultaneously cruises on two highways, boosting speeds through aggregation.
• Result: Faster data transmission, like a supercar weaving through traffic.

Deterministic Latency: The VIP Lane

• Imagine identical cars driving on both highways. They ensure at least one of each type reaches the destination.
• And the most important cars? They take the lane with the fastest route—guaranteeing critical traffic isn’t delayed.
• Result: Ultra-low and precise latencies, like VIP lanes for essential data.

So, Wi-Fi 7 combines speed, reliability, and efficiency—making your digital journey smoother than ever!

WiFi 7 Growth Projections

Industry forecasts predict a rapid expansion of the WiFi 7 device market over the next five years. By 2028, the global market is expected to reach $15 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 45%. This accelerated growth is driven by several key factors:

• Demand for Technological Advantages: The high speed, low latency, and enhanced stability of WiFi 7 are particularly appealing to enterprises and consumers, especially for bandwidth-intensive applications such as AR/VR, cloud gaming, and 4K/8K video streaming.
• Wide Application Scenarios: WiFi 7 is anticipated to be extensively utilized beyond homes and businesses, including in smart cities, industrial internet, telemedicine, and other emerging sectors, further driving market demand.
• Device Upgrade Cycle: As WiFi 7 technology becomes more widespread, many homes and businesses will gradually replace outdated equipment with new WiFi 7-compatible devices, thereby increasing the market size.

During this device upgrade cycle, telecom operators will need to find ways to test, benchmark and qualify Wi-Fi 7 devices. As new devices come and customer-returned devices are returned to operators, having a way to do this testing will be critical to daily operations. Current testing technology deployed for Wi-Fi 7 CPE testing will need to be upgraded in order to support the demand for Wi-Fi 7 gateways, routers, DOCSIS and PON devices. Promptlink’s new CPE Atlas+ offers a way for warehouses, labs, and logistics teams to test and refurbish these devices.

Contact Promptlink today for more information on how you can be prepared and future-proof for Wi-Fi 7 and other new technology.