How Wi-Fi 7 will boost business: An interview with the Wireless Broadband Alliance

We spoke to Tiago Rodrigues, CEO, Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) about the capabilities of Wi-Fi 7

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Wi-Fi 7 is the latest generation for wireless devices. But what are the capabilities and benefits of this new technology, and how can businesses take advantage in innovative new ways?

TechRadar Pro spoke to Tiago Rodrigues, CEO at theWireless Broadband Alliance(WBA) about why Wi-Fi 7 beats its predecessor and what the future of wireless broadband holds.

Wi-Fi 7 is faster, more spectrum efficient and more secure than every previous Wi-Fi generation. It also adds breakthrough features that are ideal for new and demanding applications, such as immersive AR/VR/XR.

For example, Wi-Fi 7 is three times fast than Wi-Fi 6 because it supports4KQAM and channel widths up to 320 MHz versus 160 MHz for Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6. These upgrades make it ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications such as gigabit Wi-Fi in homes with multiple devices streaming HD or 4K video simultaneously.

WBA just publishedGet Ready for Wi-Fi 7: Applying New Capabilities to the Key Use Cases, which provides a great overview of these and other ways it will transform how people worldwide live, work and play. The report is available as a free download by clickinghere.

Wi-Fi 7 uses the traditional 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, as well as the new 6 GHz band, which is now available in54 countries. This means Wi-Fi 7 devices now have access to an additional 1200 MHz, which is more than double the usable channels of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channelscombined.

So, it effectively triples the available spectrum available for Wi-Fi 7 in countries that have opened up all 1200 MHz for unlicensed use, such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. The new spectrum also reduces both interference and latency, which directly improves application performance and user experiences.

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Most Wi-Fi 7 devices also support legacy generations of Wi-Fi on the 2.4 and 5 GHz radios. However, one key difference of using the 6 GHz frequency band for 802.11ax is there is no need for backward compatibility with previous generations. 802.11a/b/g/n/ac radios operate at either 2.4 or 5 GHz, not 6 GHz, so backward compatibility is not possible and not needed.

As the name implies, MLO aggregates multiple links at 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz. It can quickly move critical applications to the optimal band using seamless switching between links. This enables 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.

MLO is an attractive option for enterprise vendors because of the cost savings, low maintenance and speed of deployment. As a result, MLO might provide that paradigm shift for enterprise vendors to deploy more Wi-Fi backhaul in their indoor and outdoor deployments, such as multi-dwelling units (MDUs) and large public venues.

There are two MLO modes:

MLO STR mode with 5 GHz+6 GHz bands could support enterprise backhaul throughput needs (~10 Gb/s). Both Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 features (6 GHz AFC, wider channel bandwidths, 4K QAM, MLO, etc.) together can contribute to the wider adoption of Wi-Fi backhaul.

MLO enhanced multi-link single-radio (eMLSR) mode could provide the link redundancy options for seamlessly switching between the Wi-Fi backhaul links. For example, on a 5 GHz + 6 GHz eMLSR backhaul link, the MAC scheduler can dynamically switch the primary operating link to the less congested link (e.g., if more clients are connected to the 6 GHz home link, then switch the backhaul to 5 GHz).

Wi-Fi 7 will enable consumer, enterprise, Industry 4.0, medical, smart city and other applications that are impractical or impossible with other wired and wireless technologies, providing twice the bandwidth and three times the speed of Wi-Fi 6, deterministic network support. However, there are other really key drivers for Wi-Fi 7 use including:

New location-based techniques to deliver enhanced customer experience and analytics

Wi-Fi sensing that blends seamlessly with the environment

IoT combined uses cases featuring Wi-Fi with HaLow, LoRaWAN, Matter and UWB

Further convergence with 5G providing backhaul for Wi-Fi 7 deployments.

More 5G services over Wi-Fi 7, such as expanding adoption of Wi-Fi calling

WBA believes a Wi-Fi 7 Industry Trials Program is pivotal and is actively collaborating with its members to conduct field trials in real-world Wi-Fi 7 networks. These trials are open to all interested industry players and are a crucial platform for mobile device and AP vendors, operators, and service enablers to collectively test Wi-Fi 7 capabilities in key deployments scenarios.

In these trials, participants will gain invaluable hands-on, real-world insights into deploying Wi-Fi 7 across operator, residential, and enterprise networks. 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.

For starters, Wi-Fi 7 utilises the unused capacity in a channel, making it ideal for many use cases such as:

Ultra-low deterministic latencies to take user experiences to the next level and enable new enterprise use cases

Less latency and jitter for video applications such as telecommuting.

Immersive AR/VR and themetaverse

Cloud gaming and managing of packets depending on environment conditions, such as congestion

Industry 4.0, including freeing factories from the limitations of SCADA

New applications like emergency services over Wi-Fi

Most of the latest-generation devices fromApple, Meta and others operate only in 6 GHz, making network design and delivery part of the business’s network planning.

Wi-Fi’s low cost per bit makes it a no-brainer upgrade. Wi-Fi 7 is the latest generation and thus enables future proofing the network architecture even further.

Typically networks are sustained by backhaul systems that can evolve over time. However, features such as MLO make it likely that Wi-Fi 7 will be the generation leveraging existing resources to deliver the best experience. Hence, upgrades will be mostly on the network side: APs and controllers (physical / cloud operated).

Early research shows future directions for Wi-Fi 8 and beyond focusing on service availability and optimal experience when using unlicensed spectrum. This will be a natural step to augment the new spectrum available and any learning from Wi-Fi 7’s massive rollout.

A new benchmark is being created: OpenRoaming + Wi-Fi 7 + 6 GHz. This allows new market entrants to deliver enterprise/community-grade solutions effectively opening up new markets and leading to growth in global businesses and GDP.

How Wi-Fi 7 will boost business: An interview with the Wireless Broadband Alliance#

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How Wi-Fi 7 will boost business: An interview with the Wireless Broadband Alliance

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Read more from TechRadar Pro