What is Wi-Fi 7 and When Will We Have It? 

Things move fast in the world of tech. We might only just be connecting to Wi-Fi 6, yet Wi-Fi 7 is already hovering in the background ready to arrive on the scene and bring us even more improvements. Before we’ve even had a chance to enjoy the most recent ones! 

It’s only fairly recently that the Wi-Fi Alliance announced the certification for Wi-Fi 6E (or Wi-Fi 6 Extended). This joyful addition to the spectrum for unlicensed Wi-Fi was the first in 20 years! Yet even with this extra ability to give the 6 GHz band an advantage, the next generation of wireless technology is still on the way. And with the promise of even higher data rates and lower latency that the current offering!

Wi-Fi 7 (or 802.11be to be technically correct), in comparison to Wi-Fi 6, will:

  • Use multi-band/ multi-channel aggregation and operation 
  • Deliver higher spectrum and power efficiency
  • Have better interference mitigations
  • Offer higher capacity density 
  • Have higher cost efficiency. 

As a result of the projected ability for it to support up to 30Gbps throughout, this seventh generation of Wi-Fi is also being referred to as Wi-Fi Extremely High Throughput. It will be approximately 3 times faster than Wi-Fi 6.  

What are the enhancements of Wi-Fi 7 over Wi-Fi 6? 

Wi-Fi 7 is purported to offer a number of better features. Some of the direct improvements over it’s Wi-Fi 6 precedent are:

  • The support of 320 MHz transmissions. In comparison to 802.11ax, this is double the 160 MHz it currently supports
  • The use of higher modulation orders, optionally supporting 4096-QAM. This is a significant increase from 802.11ax ‘s 1024-QAM 
  • The allocation of multiple resource units, such as groups of OFMDA tones

Due to the last feature, Wi-Fi 7 will be the perfect option for enterprise spaces due to having more efficient spectrum utilisation across multiple resource units. 

Organisations requiring the addition of AR/VR, Iot and IIoT as part of their workflow will find Wi-Fi 7 a useful tool in their digital transformations. 

Applications that require deterministic latency (an upper limit to how long a signal takes to get from point A to point B), high reliability and quality of service will find that Wi-Fi 7 has the potential to support them. 

And it’s not just the workplace that Wi-Fi 7 will prove beneficial. Due to Wi-Fi 7 being optimised for video, those who enjoy gaming and streaming at home will also enjoy the improvements. Any smart-home devices and services will likely feel enhanced with the new Wi-Fi standard. 

The popularity of video is huge, and will only continue to grow. It is expected to become the dominant form of internet traffic (if it isn’t already). Cisco’s Visual Networking Index expected video traffic on a global IP scale would be 82% of all IP traffic by this year for both business and consumer. 

When can we expect to get Wi-Fi 7?

The 802.11be amendment is expected to be published by IEEE in 2024. Commercial deployment of Wi-Fi 7 will likely be around the same time. 

Following that, the Wi-Fi Alliance will then release the Wi-Fi 7 certification programme, just like with Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, which will ensure security standards and interoperability. 

But in the interim, we’ll be enjoying what Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E has to offer! You can read more about this Wi-Fi standard in our previous blog post, if you’re wondering what all the fuss is about.

 

The Wi-Fi Lifecycle: How to Boost Wireless Performance at Every Stage

Managing a wireless network is a non-stop task. A wireless network is a lifecycle – It is constantly moving through the processes, and every stage gives you the chance to troubleshoot and optimise your Wi-Fi.

What is the Wi-Fi Lifecycle?

If you are responsible for deploying a Wi-Fi network and then doing the ongoing management, then you will likely be familiar with the stages you see throughout this process. It starts with the wireless network design, and then continuing maintenance, optimisation and troubleshooting, which can lead you back to those design stages. To ensure that your wireless network reliably performs at its optimum levels, you need to understand these stages and equip yourselves with the right tools.

Let’s have a look at each stage of the Wi-Fi Cycle.

Wi-Fi Design

First up, it’s design. Do not skip this step. It’s so important for your wireless network to carry out surveys and design according to the results. You likely won’t get a high-performing, reliable Wi-Fi network without doing this stage properly!

Designing your wireless network gives you the opportunity to translate the Wi-Fi needs of your business (or home) in a way that meets or exceeds all of your requirements. Do not just deploy and hope for the best – Wi-Fi is a vital first stage in any wireless network deployment.

If you’re not sure where to start, then get in touch with us here at Geekabit. Our Wi-Fi experts have all the knowledge needed to carry out a Wi-Fi survey and use the information identified to design a high-performance wireless network that provides reliable Wi-Fi for your business-critical applications. For more information on Wi-Fi surveys and what they entail, you might like to read this blog.

Network Validation

Once you’ve got your Wi-Fi network designed, taking things into consideration like walls, end user requirements, positioning, high footfall areas etc you need to validate it. The aim of this stage is to make sure that your Wi-Fi design behaves in the way you have predicted it to.

Using AP on a Stick technology, you can test out the locations for access points in your design and make sure that things like capacity and coverage are what you expected. This stage is also a bit of a safety net to catch any possible sources of interferences that didn’t pop up in your survey or design stage, for example differences in wall materials.

This stage is also vital if you want to make sure your network will be successful before complete deployment, saving you valuable time (and money) later on fixing problems. If you’re having to run new cabling, you really want to make sure that all your access points and antenna are in the best locations first.

You may find yourself returning to this stage multiple times. Perhaps you identify some potential issues with access point placing which sends you back to the design stage. You’ll find yourself re-validating those changes. Remember, this is a constant process and you will go through the Wi-Fi lifecycle time and again.

You don’t just validate post-design – You will also need to validate your network following its deployment. But hopefully, having done an initial design and validation stage, you will find your network running at its optimum performance for your end users.

Wi-Fi Optimisation

So you’ve designed your network, validated it and went ahead with deployment. Surely that’s it done? We’re afraid not! Even if your network seems to be working well and providing reliable Wi-Fi to your users, it’s something that needs constant monitoring and maintenance in order to optimise the Wi-Fi your business provides.

This isn’t a quick process or ‘box-ticked-next’ sort of stage. Continuously monitoring and tweaking your Wi-Fi network allows your to react in a timely manner to any changes. Perhaps you have an increase in staff members, or a rise in multiple device usage. Maybe there are physical changes made to the building, a reshuffle of office layout or a warehouse with wildly fluctuating inventory.

The Wi-Fi Optimsation stage allows for proactive wireless network improvements to be made for any known impending changes. Constant monitoring also enables a reactive approach to any adjustments that need to be made due to reported issues from end users.

Carrying out regular RF surveys of your Wi-Fi network will provide you with data that becomes invaluable when it comes to making adjustments and troubleshooting issues.

There may be times when a change of requirements is too large for just a few tweaks here and there, which will send you back to the design stage in order to create a new deployment.

Network Troubleshooting

No one wants Wi-Fi woes in their office if they can help it. Disgruntled employees that are complaining of slow Wi-Fi aren’t just demotivated and unproductive – They may not even be able to carry out business-critical tasks. If your business depends on reliable Wi-Fi, then you need to make sure your wireless network meets requirements by following the stages mentioned above.

But unfortunately, there will be times when issues slip through the net. Troubleshooting is probably the most stressful stage of the Wi-Fi Lifecycle. Everyone knows how frustrating it is to have dodgy Wi-Fi, and nobody wants to be on the receiving end of those complaints.

Thankfully, with the right tools you can keep these incidences to a minimum, ensure swift implementation of fixes and get straight back to the optimisation stage. Spectrum analysers are a big help during the troubleshooting process by helping identify Wi-Fi strength and interference.

 

Wi-Fi Design – Yes, we’ve gone full circle!

The nature of wireless networks is everchanging. Requirements change fairly regularly with the needs of the business. Sometimes these will be small, quick fixes and sometimes they will require complete re-design and deployment right from the beginning of the Wi-Fi lifecycle.

Luckily for you, you now know the process – Wi-Fi Design, Wi-Fi Validation, Network Optimisation and Troubleshooting.

 

Whichever stage your wireless network is currently in, Geekabit can help ensure your business Wi-Fi is high-performing and reliable for your end users. For more information or to discuss your requirements, get in touch with out one of our Wi-Fi experts today.