The Wi-Fi Alliance is now certifying devices that support Wi-Fi 7, and the improved speed and connectivity won't just benefit consumer networks, but also corporate and industrial ones.
Wi-Fi 7 will offer speeds up to four times faster than its predecessors, Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, while features such as high throughput and deterministic latency will help improve its performance in unique ways.
Though Wi-Fi 6 and 6E are themselves pretty new, the Wi-Fi Alliance expects the rapid adoption of Wi-Fi 7 moving forward. The Alliance predicts the entrance of 233 million Wi-Fi 7 ready devices into the market in 2024 alone, growing to an estimated 2.1 billion devices by 2028.
Tiago Rodrigues, president and CEO at the Wireless Broadband Alliance, told ITPro the arrival of Wi-Fi 7 represents a “game changer” that will provide next-generation connectivity for businesses and home workers in years to come.
“Wi-Fi 7 is a massive gamechanger for industry offering more streamlined processes for the industrial sector and an array of new use cases supporting businesses and home workers across many verticals,” he said.
“It also provides an array of use cases from immersive experiences for online gaming, education, health; improved manufacturing processes and preventative maintenance; content distribution and video as well as supporting enhanced corporate and in-home worker communications.”
Speaking to ITPro, Gartner analyst Mike Leibovitz echoed Rodrigues’ comments, but noted that firms shouldn’t expect instant improvements.
“There are many exciting advancements in the protocol updates”, Leibovitz said.
He pointed out, however, that it will take “2-3 years to realize benefits in the real world”.
“It will require both device and infrastructure support to take advantage of key new features.”.
The Wi-Fi Alliance also cited a range of new use cases in which this new tier of certification would be, if not necessary, then certainly sought after.
Virtual reality and highspeed gaming were among the key applications highlighted, while hybrid working, industrial IoT, and automotive manufacturing have a lot to gain as well.
In the wake of the pandemic, remote working gradually transitioned into what’s now the office standard, hybrid working.
As of May 2023, around 60% of employees describe themselves as having flexible working arrangements in their current role according to a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Subsequently, the broadband landscape needs to accommodate both the head office and the home office, and Wi-Fi 7 doesn’t look like it’ll have much difficulty. Its ultra-wide 320 Mhz channels will double the current widest channel size, facilitating multigigabit device speeds.
In 2022, 45% of remote workers ranked their biggest challenge as a weak or unreliable internet connection, according to a report by Cisco; by 2025.
Wi-Fi 7 will overhaul the new generation of IoT
One arena of innovation bound to Wi-Fi is that of IoT, which relies on both the strength and consistency of signal to operate.
IDC estimates there’ll be 55.7 billion connected IoT devices by 2025 with the combined data processing capacity of 80B zettabytes (ZB).
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Wi-Fi 7 will deliver the necessary interoperability for effective IoT by providing a common platform for networks and connectivity, providing greater reliability, the Wi-Fi Alliance said.
According to a report by the Wireless Broadband Alliance, Wi-Fi 7 will build on the latency bound control allowed for by Wi-Fi6/6E via a refinement of scheduling mechanisms.
“If there are IoT/OT devices supporting Wi-Fi 7 protocol, with advancement of MLO in operation, there can be significant value in scenarios where higher speed roaming or more deterministic behavior is required”, Leibovitz told ITPro.
“This is why industrial scenarios (IIoT) and automotive use-cases are being touted with the marketing release as they introduce concepts where Wi-Fi hasn’t traditionally performed optimally”, he added.
