Wi-Fi 7 will maximize gigabit broadband investments by reliably delivering higher throughput, lower latency and better coverage
Wi-Fi 7 (or 802.11be) was developed with a focus on Wi-Fi Extremely High Throughput, which refers to its projected ability to support up to 30 Gbps throughput, roughly three times faster than Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax. According to Chris Szymanski, director of product marketing for Broadcom’s Mobile Connectivity Division, however, the next generation if Wi-Fi has a lot more to celebrate than just speed.
“Wi-Fi 4 and 5 were really all about feats of speed,” explained Szymanski. “Wi-Fi 6 brought vast improvements in scheduling and multi-user benefits. These features led to significant increases in Wi-Fi network capacity, lowered latency and increased throughput because access points [APs] could allocate airwaves on demand to meet the needs of each individual user and application. A single transmission could serve multiple users at one time. Wi-Fi 7 doubles down on these innovations.”
Beyond the multi-user and scheduling capabilities, he continued, Wi-Fi 7 will layer in high reliability both in terms of throughput and latency, making it more suitable for the most demanding applications, particularly in the enterprise space. Already challenging because of the density of APs, number of users and diversity of applications, enterprise applications will become even more complex as they continue to add AR/VR, IoT and IIoT applications to their workflows, all of which require deterministic latency, high reliability and quality of service (QoS).
In residential settings, Wi-Fi 7 will improve user experiences throughout the whole home for things like gaming, streaming and other smart-home devices and services.
Broadly, Wi-Fi 7 will deliver whole-premises coverage with range enhancements and higher performance, even in the most demanding environments. Szymanski, though, wanted to highlight a few key Wi-Fi 7 elements.
Multi-link operation for better resiliency
Multi-link means supporting and utilizing multiple channels, and in the case of Wi-Fi, these channels include the 2.4 GHz low band and the 5 and 6 GHz high bands, resulting in the ability for devices to deterministically schedule transmissions to maximize bandwidth and range as needed.
“With multi-link there is a fast frequency switching mode that we expect to be adopted by the vast majority of devices. This mode allows a device to choose which frequency to use on a packet-by-packet basis. Delays will be a thing of the past even during busy hour surges,” Szymanski said, adding that when it comes to use cases like AR and VR, in which any amount of lag is disruptive, “latency averages don’t matter at all.”
Szymanski continued: “In these use cases, you want to make sure that you’ve really dialed down latency at the 99-percentile. With multi-link operation, we’re going to have a tremendous amount of resiliency because if one frequency is in use anywhere near the network, another frequency can be used for a transmission. It is a traffic world with no red lights, where the application has a green light at every intersection. This is a feature that we think will be prevailing in the market.”
AFC for extended range and increased power
To avoid potential interference with existing 6 GHz incumbents, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defined two types of device classifications with different transmit power rules for Wi-Fi devices operating on the band: low power APs for indoor Wi-Fi and standard power APs using automated frequency coordination (AFC) that can be used indoors and outdoors. Wi-Fi 7 with AFC will bring the flexibility and the range of Wi-Fi in the 5 GHz band, but with 6 GHz performance.
“We are able to do this by ensuring that existing users in the band are protected by coordinating the Wi-Fi traffic in locations and frequencies that are not in use,” said Szymanski. “It is the best of both worlds because incumbent license holders are protected, and the Wi-Fi devices can operate at maximum performance.”
He added that AFC will boost AP power by 63 times in 6 GHz. “We can do so much with that sort of power in terms of range, throughput and resiliency. Nothing trumps power.”
“We expect the FCC to bring AFC online right around the same time as Wi-Fi 7 products launch,” predicted Szymanski. “That’s exciting because there are features in Wi-Fi 7 that are specifically designed around AFC, such as channel puncturing, which will help to provide reliable access to wide channels for standard power equipment.”
Additional direct enhancements over Wi-Fi 6 include support of 320 MHz transmissions, doubling the physical layer data rate seen in 802.11ax, and support for 4096-QAM (4K QAM) — up from 1024-QAM (1K QAM) in 802.11ax, further increasing data rates.
When considered together, these features spell out a technology homerun for Broadcom: “We are super excited about what Wi-Fi 7 is going to bring to the table, standing on the success of Wi-Fi 6 and 6E,” summarized Szymanski.
