Faster speeds and MLO combined offers an array of benefits:
- Higher data rates
- Lower latency
- Higher spectrum efficiency
- Higher power efficiency
- Better interface mitigation
- Higher capacity density
- More connected devices
- Higher cost-efficiency
- Wider channels
Speed and ultra-consistent low latency converge
While WiFi 6E resolved the issue of managing crowded networks, where users and client devices fought over bandwidth, the arrival of WiFi 7 will bring about a fresh array of emerging use cases. The new technology won’t simply allow us to do the same thing better than before, it will instead create the possibility of an all-new wireless experience.
From advanced extended reality (XR) to 8K video streaming, massive cloud-based gaming, and next-gen video conferencing, applications once considered futuristic will become the norm.
WiFi 7 transforms the router into a multi-link device
A selection of multi-link options will significantly increase throughput while reducing latency. Simultaneous multi-link capabilities will allow two separate physical WiFi radios to communicate concurrently on different frequencies in the high bands while being combined under one MAC interface.
The result is a singular aggregated data pipe, which is recognized as a single device by client devices. It has the capacity to send data packets over multiple frequencies depending on which channel is the least congested.
In a single household, imagine a graphic-rich environment that may include a gaming system, computers, smartphones, smart devices, and more, all operating simultaneously via the same router over different frequencies for optimal data throughput.
The days of configuring a router to operate over one frequency or another are over. WiFi 7 routers won’t care which frequency is used. They only worry about finding the path of least resistance to get data through faster. As a bonus, the additional frequency flexibility will lead to less interference between gadgets as the number of devices connected per network continues to rise.
4K QAM brings greater spectrum usage efficiency with a small caveat
WiFi 7 upgrades Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) from 1K to 4K. This advanced modulation scheme will boost peak rates and capacity while increasing the physical layer (PHY) data rate and improving modulation accuracy.
While higher-order modulation formats move more data, the increasing difficulty in distinguishing between 0s and 1s requires significantly better RF performance to avoid errors in transmissions.
Akoustis is excited to be a leader in innovation in this space, bringing future RF filters to market capable of higher linearity and the noise performance required in WiFi 7 products. We look forward to meeting the technology challenge WiFi 7 presents head-on.