WiFi has become one of the most important technologies of the 21st century, whether for large companies or small businesses as well as homes. As no home is without a wireless “Router” and most likely you are able to access and read the content of this article on the Internet thanks to this technology, and the WiFi Alliance is trying to develop this technology in conjunction with our increasing dependence on the Internet.
Despite the release of the latest version of WiFi in 2020, under the version of WiFi 6E, technologies such as virtual reality and cloud video game services have proven that we still need further developments and improvements. What is new in the WiFi 7 standard and do we really need this development?
A look back before WiFi 7, what were the capabilities of the previous versions?
In order to understand the importance of the capabilities of the new version of WiFi, we have to go back a little and note together the most significant qualitative shifts in each update. As the speed of data transfer is not the only criterion that is improved with each version, but there are many features and advantages, which may not interest the average consumer, but they are classified as important advantages alike.
WiFi 4
Let’s start with the fourth version, as it is known as the IEEE 802.11n standard, which was launched in 2009 and was supporting data transmission at a speed of 72 to 600 Mbit/s compared to its previous version WiFi 3 (802.11n) which had a data transfer speed of 6 to 54 Mbps bit/s. It also covered a range of 70 meters in residential buildings and 250 meters in open spaces, compared to previous versions that covered 38 meters, and only 140 meters. This version also supports 20 and 40 MHz bands, and works on the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands.
This version saw the first introduction of the “Multiple Input/Multiple Output” technology, or MIMO, which allows data to be transmitted in two waves – using two transmitting antennas – instead of a single wave and collected at the receiving device, ensuring a clear signal important You are away from the transmitting device (the router) and this technique is known as “Maximal-ratio Combining”, or MRC for short.
This technology also allowed sending data on several channels from each antenna according to what is known as “spatial-multiplexing”, which significantly improved the communication speed. directed to it, which ensures less loss of data packets, by sending two waves and specifying their meeting point.
WiFi 5
The fifth version of Wi-Fi, or as it is known as the IEEE 802.11ac standard, which was launched in 2012 and included the Beamforming technology – which was mentioned in the previous version – to MIMO technology in addition to the development of the technology in general, as it is now possible for several devices to communicate and exchange data with Access Point “Single User” to distinguish between the two. And it supported having 4 transmitters and 4 receivers when using it.
The speeds have improved significantly in this version thanks to the expansion of the bandwidth, as it now supports frequencies up to 160 MHz and operates on the 5 GHz band only, at a speed of 400 Mbit/s to 7 Gbit/s, and 8 spatial streams – Spatial trading is explained in The previous paragraph- and a coverage range of up to 80 meters in residential buildings.
WiFi 6, 6E
The current version of Wi-Fi is known as the IEEE 802.11ax standard, launched in 2019. It operates on the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz band, with a bandwidth of 20 MHz to 160 MHz. It was also followed by the release of 6E in 2020, which included the 6 GHz band. With a data transfer speed of 9.6 gigabits / s, this standard has become classified under the so-called “High Efficiency Wireless Local Area Network – High Efficiency WLAN” or as it is known for short.
Apart from improvements in this standard, the most notable technology that was introduced was OFDMA, or as it is known as “orthogonal frequency-division multiple access.” This technology, in short, divides the frequency of a connection point into several parts so that several devices are allowed to communicate Simultaneous transmission of data on the same channel.
This standard also contained a technology called BSS Coloring, which reduces signal interference between communication points on the same frequency, and allowed the presence of 8 transmitters and receivers compared to only eight in the previous standard. The improvements also included security improvements, as the WPA3 security standard was added instead of the previous WP2 security standard, although the two standards used the same encryption (128-bit encryption), but the most prominent advantages were getting rid of WPS and adding the option to scan a QR code instead.
What’s new in WiFi 7 technology?
Although Wi-Fi technology has reached a level that satisfies the purpose of the average consumer and more, but the field of development and improvement is still widely available, as the WiFi 7 standard, which will be called IEEE 802.11be, will provide us with many advantages of interest to most organizations and companies that will interest the consumer Definitely normal in the coming years. Let’s review together the most prominent features announced.
The new standard comes with higher speeds than its predecessor, as WiFi 7 is supposed to provide us with a maximum speed of at least 46 Gbit/s, which is approximately five times the speed of the current generation. In addition, this standard will include frequencies up to 320 MHz (double the previous generation), and will operate on various unlicensed and adopted frequencies from 1 GHz to 7.25 GHz.
The MU-MIMO technology has also been improved, with 16 Spatial Stream channels, which means that 16 transmitters and 16 receivers can be used simultaneously. This development was named CMU-MIMO, you will notice the addition of the letter C, which is from the word “coordinated”.
This standard will also provide us with the ability to communicate on different frequency channels (2.4, 5 or 6 GHz) at the same time on the same Access Point (AP) with the ability to connect each device on a particular channel so that this reduces the delay in the signal (between the connection point and Connected Device), and this technology was called MLO for Multi-Link Operation. This ensures a smooth experience in various applications that require a low signal delay connection.
We will also be able to connect and coordinate multiple points of contact with each other. It is possible now, yes, but the Wi-Fi 7 standard aims to make this process based on the same standard without resorting to additional software and equipment, and this technology was named Multi-AP Operation.
When will WiFi 7 arrive?
The WiFi 7 standard is still under development and improvement, and it will be launched in mid-2024, and until then the standard will go through several development stages. But it will take about two to three years to reach the market after its launch. The Wi-Fi 6 standard is not supported on most devices to this day despite its launch in 2019.
Should I care about WiFi 7, and do we really need this update?
In fact, for the average consumer, there is no reason to care about this technology at the present time, as it is likely that most Internet users do not know which standard of WiFi they are using, in addition to that this technology is under development and will not reach our homes until after 5 years. Less appreciate. However, given our increasing dependence on the Internet, it is difficult to say that this technology will not benefit us and satisfy our needs in the future.
Take, for example, virtual reality and augmented reality applications, as they require a reliable connection with high speed and almost zero delay for the optimal experience, and this is really what our world and technology in general are heading towards. Add to that, video conferencing, live streaming services, and cloud gaming services.
Let us also not forget the rise and increase of various devices that depend on the Internet in their work (Internet of Things IoT), as we see refrigerators and coffee makers connected to the Internet to perform their tasks, in addition to monitoring devices, smart watches, and light bulbs. One home now contains dozens of similar devices and they all require a reliable connection with high speed and zero delay for the best experience.
