What you need to know about WiFi 7

We have written this article about Wi-Fi 7 to help shed light on the latest breakthrough in wireless technology that promises to revolutionize our digital experiences. As the demand for faster and more reliable internet connections grows, understanding the advancements and potential of Wi-Fi 7 is crucial. This technology not only offers significant improvements in speed and efficiency but also enhances the performance of a wide range of applications. We are often asked what is the difference between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 so wrote this article to explore the differences and whether it is worth upgrading to Wi-Fi 7.

The evolution from WiFi 5 to WiFi 7 represents significant developments in wireless technology, providing major improvements in speed, capacity, efficiency and security.

WiFi 5 paved the way for present WiFi capabilities with faster speeds and dual-band support. WiFi 6 built upon WiFi 5’s technology by improving speeds up to 9.6 Gbps, lowering latency and implementing MU-MIMO and OFDMA technologies that increased device capacity and network efficiency.

WiFi 7 is the latest standard, significantly improving speeds up to 46 Gbps and implementing newer technologies like MLO, MRU and preamble puncturing to maximize spectral efficiency, increase device capacity and improve overall network performance. Upgrading to WiFi 7 has benefits such as faster speeds, extended coverage, enhanced security, lower latency and overall efficiency, making it a good choice for most businesses.

If you answer yes to either of the below questions – then it would be a good idea to upgrade to WiFi 7 and it is likely to cost less than you think – especially if you already have the core network in place and only need new access points to be installed.

• Do you have an older standard (WiFi 5 or older)?
• Is your vendor asking for a lot of money to renew cloud licences?

As with previous standards, WiFi 7 is backwards-compatible with existing devices such as laptops, smartphones, and TVs—essentially anything that connects to WiFi. So, if you purchase a WiFi 7 router today, all your current wireless devices will still function seamlessly.

However, to fully enjoy the benefits of WiFi 7, you need devices that are specifically compatible with this new standard. Such devices are gradually entering the market. The devices you currently own will perform at their maximum capability based on their certified WiFi version, whether that is WiFi 6, WiFi 6e, or another version.

• Speed: Each newer WiFi standard supports faster WiFi speeds, which makes high-speed activities like high-quality video streaming and file uploads and downloads quicker and smoother.
• Extended range and coverage: Upgrading your WiFi standard provides better range and coverage while maintaining high network performance reducing dead zones.
• Lower latency: Lower latency in newer WiFi standards improves your general WiFi experience. Real-time applications like video conferencing become smoother and more enjoyable as it takes less time for data to be transmitted.
• Improved device capacity: Newer WiFi standards like WiFi 6e and WiFi 7 support 6 GHz bands that increase device capacity, handling more devices simultaneously. Improved device capacity enables multiple users to use the internet concurrently without compromising performance.
• Enhanced security: Upgraded WiFi networks have improved features like WPA3 encryption. WPA3 is the latest network security protocol that provides better protection against cyber threats.

• Device compatibility: Most modern devices support the latest WiFi standards and benefit the most from their advantages and features. Upgrading guarantees that all new devices can connect seamlessly and fully use their features.
• Usage: Upgrading to a more advanced WiFi standard provides faster speeds, more bandwidth and lower latency to handle these intensive activities with ease and reliability.
• Cost implications: If you have a network in place, upgrading can be relatively quick and cheap and can even save you money. Installing a WiFI 7 Ubiquiti network can be cheaper than renewing licences on some rival brands WiFi networks.
• Network/bandwidth congestion: As you add new devices to your network, older WiFi standards may struggle with network congestion, leading to slow performance. Newer WiFi standards offer better bandwidth management and increased device capacity, supporting multiple devices simultaneously without affecting performance.
• Poor WiFi coverage: if your current WiFi network cannot cover all areas in your building, and you have dark zones, upgrading could be a really cost effective improvement.

WiFi has become a core requirement for todays applications and devices, and providing flawless fast WiFi will have massive productivity advantages. In our opinion not providing brilliant WiFi is a total false economy as it has an effect on productivity, especially when so many office applications are migrating away from on-premise servers to cloud applications.