Wi-Fi Grows Up
There are thought to be 5.56 billion active mobile phones across the globe, and almost every one is Wi-Fi capable. There are billions of other Wi-Fi enabled devices, ranging from laptops to smart TVs and there are over 15 billion IoT devices connected to the internet, many of which use Wi-Fi to make that connection. With cellular users numbering a mere 6.4 billion, Wi-Fi is the most ubiquitous network protocol globally, yet we rarely pay any attention to this technology that supports industrial, commercial, and residential users 24/7, unless we hear the words, “Wi-Fi is down!”, at which point panic sets in for most users, along with either a call to tech support or having to go into the cabinet under the TV to see if the router lights are flashing.
Those boxes, and their larger counterparts in commercial systems, grab the text messages, e-mails, pictures, videos, and data that you send, right out of the air. They package each bit, and send it out into the world over cable, fiber, or cell. Cellular folks laugh at Wi-Fi’s limited range (see below), but cellular signals, particularly 5G cellular, are quite easily blocked by building structures and geographical obstacles, while Wi-Fi is designed to be a low-power system used as a local network. The comparison is apples to oranges now, but next year things will get better for Wi-Fi users as Wi-Fi 7 standards will be finalized and the potential for substantial improvements in Wi-Fi will be underway.
Those boxes, and their larger counterparts in commercial systems, grab the text messages, e-mails, pictures, videos, and data that you send, right out of the air. They package each bit, and send it out into the world over cable, fiber, or cell. Cellular folks laugh at Wi-Fi’s limited range (see below), but cellular signals, particularly 5G cellular, are quite easily blocked by building structures and geographical obstacles, while Wi-Fi is designed to be a low-power system used as a local network. The comparison is apples to oranges now, but next year things will get better for Wi-Fi users as Wi-Fi 7 standards will be finalized and the potential for substantial improvements in Wi-Fi will be underway.
Typically, a new standard means that equipment manufacturers will begin adding Wi-Fi 7 capabilities to new models as they are released, however some CE manufacturers have taken the preliminary Wi-Fi 7 protocol and built those capabilities into new devices. 15 smartphone models have been released this year having Wi-Fi 7 capabilities, one back in December of last year, all of which are hoping that the protocol does not change radically from the pre-ratified standard on which they have based their phones. We do note that Qualcomm (QCOM) released its Fast-Connect 7800 Wi-Fi 7 chipset in May 2022, which will likely be the basis for most of the early devices that have Wi-Fi 7 capabilities. There are also a few early Wi-Fi 7 routers from TP-Link (pvt), Netgear (NTGR), Asus (2357.TT), and Linksys (2354.TT) that support the pre-ratified Wi-Fi 7 standard.
All of that said, how is Wi-Fi 7 going to benefit the user? Wi-Fi 7 is faster, actually much faster than current (Wi-Fi 6 & 6e) Wi-Fi protocols. Wi-Fi 6 & 6e have a maximum data rate of 9.6GB/sec, while Wi-Fi 7 has a max rate of 46GB/sec, almost 5 times faster, although those are rates that are rarely reached in normal use. Current Wi-Fi divides available spectrum into what are called ‘sub-carriers’, using a technique called orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA – This will not be on the test…). Each user is assigned a subset of the subsets, which allows users to share channels and bandwidth. Wi-Fi 7 will expand the size of the channels (2x), which has not changed in over 10 years, and allows all three available frequency bands to be ‘linked’ to allow for higher throughput and lower latency. The new standard also allows Wi-Fi 7 to carry frames (packets of data with transmission information included) that are 12 bits rather than the 10 that are used now, which leads to a 20% gain in data rates.
Of course, while this sounds impressive, there are issues, mostly regulatory, as no regions in the US support the three-channel approach that Wi-Fi 7 uses. The FCC is currently working on a plan for allocating the channels and bandwidth in the 6GHz band, which does not require a license, so once that plan is completed, network operators will be able to begin the use of Wi-Fi 7 for customers and equipment manufacturers, seeing a less risky path toward building in Wi-Fi 7 capabilities. That said, changes in important standards like Wi-Fi take time to propagate through Wi-Fi infrastructure, especially when they are as significant as the changes between Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7.
More complicated antenna systems, potential interference, and even higher power consumption issues must be balanced by designers of Wi-Fi 7 equipment, so we keep our timeline for widespread Wi-Fi 7 adoption a bit more extended than industry members might propose. However, we are still optimistic about the change and how it will be accepted by consumers, although they will have to buy new routers to take advantage of the upgrades. There are many out there that will ask the question, “What is Wi-Fi 7”, “What’s a router?” and “How much is this going to cost?”, which will slow early adoption to those that recognize or need the benefits. The rest will be deluged by carriers offering free Wi-Fi router upgrades if they sign up as a new customer.
All of that said, how is Wi-Fi 7 going to benefit the user? Wi-Fi 7 is faster, actually much faster than current (Wi-Fi 6 & 6e) Wi-Fi protocols. Wi-Fi 6 & 6e have a maximum data rate of 9.6GB/sec, while Wi-Fi 7 has a max rate of 46GB/sec, almost 5 times faster, although those are rates that are rarely reached in normal use. Current Wi-Fi divides available spectrum into what are called ‘sub-carriers’, using a technique called orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA – This will not be on the test…). Each user is assigned a subset of the subsets, which allows users to share channels and bandwidth. Wi-Fi 7 will expand the size of the channels (2x), which has not changed in over 10 years, and allows all three available frequency bands to be ‘linked’ to allow for higher throughput and lower latency. The new standard also allows Wi-Fi 7 to carry frames (packets of data with transmission information included) that are 12 bits rather than the 10 that are used now, which leads to a 20% gain in data rates.
Of course, while this sounds impressive, there are issues, mostly regulatory, as no regions in the US support the three-channel approach that Wi-Fi 7 uses. The FCC is currently working on a plan for allocating the channels and bandwidth in the 6GHz band, which does not require a license, so once that plan is completed, network operators will be able to begin the use of Wi-Fi 7 for customers and equipment manufacturers, seeing a less risky path toward building in Wi-Fi 7 capabilities. That said, changes in important standards like Wi-Fi take time to propagate through Wi-Fi infrastructure, especially when they are as significant as the changes between Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7.
More complicated antenna systems, potential interference, and even higher power consumption issues must be balanced by designers of Wi-Fi 7 equipment, so we keep our timeline for widespread Wi-Fi 7 adoption a bit more extended than industry members might propose. However, we are still optimistic about the change and how it will be accepted by consumers, although they will have to buy new routers to take advantage of the upgrades. There are many out there that will ask the question, “What is Wi-Fi 7”, “What’s a router?” and “How much is this going to cost?”, which will slow early adoption to those that recognize or need the benefits. The rest will be deluged by carriers offering free Wi-Fi router upgrades if they sign up as a new customer.
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