Wi-Fi 7 #802.11be

WiFi-7 refers to 7th generation of wifi standard #80211be

It is developed to meet following requirements which include higher data rate, low latency, high spectrum efficiency, high power efficiency, better interference mitigation, high capacity density, higher cost efficiency.

✓6 GHz Band and 320 MHz Channels:

Currently, Wi-Fi 6E uses 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz and can use 160 MHz wide channels. Wi-Fi 7 will also use 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz frequencies, but Wi-Fi 7 can use 320 MHz wide channels, double the previous Wi-Fi generations, on the 6GHz band. The 6GHz band is wider than the 2.4 and 5GHz bands combined, making it easier to send data quickly and minimizing signal interference issues.

16x16 MU-MIMO #80211be

MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) supports multiple users to transmit and receive data simultaneously. With 16x16 MU-MIMO, Wi-Fi 7 doubles the number of spatial streams compared to Wi-Fi 6 and increases network capacity. Now, more WiFi devices that need more network capacity can perform smoothly at the same time.

Multi-Link Operation:

✓What is Multi-Link Operation (MLO) #80211be

In previous WiFi generations, including WiFi 6 and WiFi 5, a device can only connect to one WiFi band — either the 2.4 GHz band or 5 GHz band. The latest WiFi 6E products now also connect to 6 GHz.

However, only one WiFi band is available for a client. Let’s take a typical WiFi 6 AX3000 router, with maximum WiFi speeds of 2402 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and 574 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band, as an example. If you connect your phone to the WiFi, you’ll find that only the 2402 Mbps on 5 GHz or 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz are accessible for every connection. This means that one band goes unused, or you might limit your speeds by choosing the slower band.

Multi-Link Operation (MLO) solves this dilemma. It enables devices to simultaneously send and receive data across different frequency bands and channels.

With MLO, WiFi 7 supports establishing multiple links between the Station (STA, such as your phone) and WiFi access point (AP, such as your router). Connecting to the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands simultaneously increases throughput, reduces latency, and improves reliability. It is ideal for emerging applications like VR/AR, online gaming, remote office, and cloud computing.