Last updated on May 31, 2022
I remember the first time I heard about wireless internet connections. It was the early 2000’s. I was working in a public library, and the planning had begun to put in an entire computer lab in the basement of an older building where no ethernet cable ports yet existed. I was struck by the idea and awed at the technology that made such a thing possible.
Of course, wifi is nearly ubiquitous now, and most people carry a device capable of using it in their pockets. But, have you ever stopped to wonder if there are advancements in wifi technology? Of course there are, and the big one we’re hearing about now is Wi-Fi 7.
- What is Wi-Fi 7? Everything You Need to Know [Wired] “The 7th generation of Wi-Fi promises major improvements over Wi-Fi 6 and 6E and could offer speeds up to four times faster. It also includes clever advances to reduce latency, increase capacity, and boost stability and efficiency.”
- Great capacity, less latency–here’s how IEEE 802.11be achieves both [IEEE Spectrum] “Wi-Fi 7 (the official IEEE standard is 802.11be) may only give Wi-Fi 6 a scant few years in the spotlight, but it’s not just an upgrade for the sake of an upgrade. Several new technologies—and some that debuted in Wi-Fi 6E but haven’t entirely yet come into their own—will allow Wi-Fi 7 routers and devices to make full use of an entirely new band of spectrum at 6 gigahertz. This spectrum—first tapped into with Wi-Fi 6E—adds a third wireless band alongside the more familiar 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands.”
- Wi-Fi 7 is a game changer, but you shouldn’t wait for it [Tech Advisor] “Companies making Wi-Fi 7 chips are already promising that the new standard will replace wired Ethernet cables. But that should be taken with a pinch of salt because, as fast as it is, Wi-Fi works fundamentally differently from wired networking.”
- What is Wi-Fi 7, the next gen wireless standard looming on the horizon? [Money Control] “The new standard isn’t set in stone yet, and the technical specifications are still being worked out, but even at this early stage Wi-Fi 7 looks to be the next generational leap forward for wireless data networks. For comparison Wi-Fi 5 had peak data rates of 6.9Gbps, whereas Wi-Fi 6 and 6E maxed out at 9.6Gbps.”
From the Ohio Web Library:
- Wi-Fi 7: The Next Generation in the Evolution of Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 7: The Next Generation in the Evolution of Wi-Fi. (2020). FierceWireless, N.PAG.)
- MediaTek Shows The World’s First Live Demos of Wi-Fi 7 Technology to Customers and Industry Leaders (PR Newswire. (2022, January 19). MediaTek Shows The World’s First Live Demos of Wi-Fi 7 Technology to Customers and Industry Leaders. PR Newswire US.)
- Wi-Fi 7 is coming: Meet the smarter, faster Internet of the future (HACHMAN, M. (2022). Wi-Fi 7 is coming: Meet the smarter, faster Internet of the future. PCWorld, 40(4), 7–11.)
