Wi-Fi 7

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Logo used by the Wi-Fi Alliance for Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi 7 - Generational Wi-Fi UI Visual.png
Logo used by the Wi-Fi Alliance for Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi generations
GenerationVisualIEEE
standard		AdoptedMaximum
link rate
(Mbit/s)		Radio
frequency
(GHz)
Wi-Fi 0 [a] — 802.11 19971–22.4
Wi-Fi 1 [a] — 802.11b 19991–112.4
Wi-Fi 2 [a] — 802.11a 19996–545
Wi-Fi 3 [a] — 802.11g 20032.4
Wi-Fi 4 802.11n 20096.5–6002.4, 5
Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac 20136.5–69335 [b]
Wi-Fi 6 [4] Wi-Fi 6 Logo.png 802.11ax 20210.4–96082.4, 5
Wi-Fi 6E 2.4, 5, 6 [c]
Wi-Fi 7 [5] Wi-Fi 7 - Generational Wi-Fi UI Visual.png 802.11be 2024 [d] 0.4–23,0592.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 8 [6] [7] [8] — 802.11bn 2028100,0002.4, 5, 6
Generational Wi-Fi UI visuals 202305.png

IEEE 802.11be, dubbed Extremely High Throughput (EHT), is a wireless networking standard in the IEEE 802.11 set of protocols [9] [10] which is designated Wi-Fi 7 by the Wi-Fi Alliance. [11] [12] [13] It has built upon 802.11ax, focusing on WLAN indoor and outdoor operation with stationary and pedestrian speeds in the 2.4, 5, and 6  GHz frequency bands. [14]

Contents

Throughput is believed to reach a theoretical maximum of 46 Gbit/s, although actual results are much lower. [15]

Development of the 802.11be amendment began with an initial draft in March 2021 with a final version expected by the end of 2024. [12] [16] [17] Despite this, numerous products were announced in 2022 based on draft standards, with retail availability in early 2023. On 8 January 2024, the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced its Wi-Fi Certified 7 program to certify Wi-Fi 7 devices. While final ratification wasn't expected until the end of 2024, the technical requirements were essentially complete, [15] and 2024 there are already products labeled as Wi‑Fi 7. [18] [19] [20]

Core features

The following are core features that have been approved as of Draft 3.0:

Candidate features

The main candidate features mentioned in the 802.11be Project Authorization Request (PAR) are: [22]

Additional features

Apart from the features mentioned in the PAR, there are newly introduced features: [26]

Rate set

Modulation and coding schemes
MCS index [i] Modulation typeCoding rateData rate (Mbit/s) [ii]
20 MHz channels40 MHz channels80 MHz channels160 MHz channels320 MHz channels
3200 ns GI [iii] 1600 ns GI800 ns GI3200 ns GI1600 ns GI800 ns GI3200 ns GI1600 ns GI800 ns GI3200 ns GI1600 ns GI800 ns GI3200 ns GI1600 ns GI800 ns GI
0BPSK1/2789151617313436616872123136144
1QPSK1/2151617293334616872122136144245272288
2QPSK3/422242644495292102108184204216368408432
316-QAM1/2293334596569123136144245272282490544577
416-QAM3/44449528898103184204216368408432735817865
564-QAM2/359656911713013824527228849054457698010891153
664-QAM3/4667377132146155276306324551613649110312251297
764-QAM5/6738186146163172306340360613681721122513611441
8256-QAM3/48898103176195207368408432735817865147016331729
9256-QAM5/698108115195217229408453480817907961163318151922
101024-QAM3/411012212921924425845951054091910211081183820422162
111024-QAM5/6122135143244271287510567600102111341201204222692402
124096-QAM3/4131146155263293310551613649110312251297220524502594
134096-QAM5/6146163172293325344613681721122513611441245027222882
14BPSK-DCM-DUP1/2789151718313436
15BPSK-DCM1/2444789151718313436616872

Comparison

802.11 network standards
Frequency
range,
or type		PHYProtocolRelease
date [27] 		Freq­uencyBandwidthStream
data rate [28] 		Max.
MIMO streams		ModulationApprox. range
In­doorOut­door
(GHz)(MHz)(Mbit/s)
1–7 GHzDSSS [29] , FHSS [A] 802.11-1997 June 19972.4221, 2— DSSS, FHSS [A] 20 m (66 ft)100 m (330 ft)
HR/DSSS [29] 802.11b September 19992.4221, 2, 5.5, 11— CCK, DSSS35 m (115 ft)140 m (460 ft)
OFDM 802.11a September 199955, 10, 206, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54
(for 20 MHz bandwidth,
divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz)		— OFDM 35 m (115 ft)120 m (390 ft)
802.11j November 20044.9, 5.0
[B] [30] 		 ? ?
802.11y November 20083.7 [C]  ?5,000 m (16,000 ft) [C]
802.11p July 20105.9 200 m 1,000 m (3,300 ft) [31]
802.11bd December 20225.9, 60 500 m 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
ERP-OFDM [32] 802.11g June 20032.438 m (125 ft)140 m (460 ft)
HT-OFDM [33] 802.11n
(Wi-Fi 4)		October 20092.4, 520Up to 288.8 [D] 4 MIMO-OFDM
(64-QAM)		70 m (230 ft)250 m (820 ft) [34]
40Up to 600 [D]
VHT-OFDM [33] 802.11ac
(Wi-Fi 5)		December 2013520Up to 693 [D] 8DL
MU-MIMO OFDM
(256-QAM)		35 m (115 ft) [35]  ?
40Up to 1600 [D]
80Up to 3467 [D]
160Up to 6933 [D]
HE-OFDMA 802.11ax
(Wi-Fi 6,
Wi-Fi 6E)		May 20212.4, 5, 620Up to 1147 [E] 8UL/DL
MU-MIMO OFDMA
(1024-QAM)		30 m (98 ft)120 m (390 ft) [F]
40Up to 2294 [E]
80Up to 5.5 Gbit/s [E]
80+80Up to 11.0 Gbit/s [E]
EHT-OFDMA 802.11be
(Wi-Fi 7)		Sep 2024
(est.)		2.4, 5, 680Up to 11.5 Gbit/s [E] 16UL/DL
MU-MIMO OFDMA
(4096-QAM)		30 m (98 ft)120 m (390 ft) [F]
160
(80+80)		Up to 23 Gbit/s [E]
240
(160+80)		Up to 35 Gbit/s [E]
320
(160+160)		Up to 46.1 Gbit/s [E]
UHR 802.11bn
(Wi-Fi 8)		May 2028
(est.)		2.4, 5, 6,
42, 60, 71		320Up to
100000
(100 Gbit/s)		16Multi-link
MU-MIMO OFDM
(8192-QAM)		 ? ?
WUR [G] 802.11ba October 20212.4, 54, 200.0625, 0.25
(62.5 kbit/s, 250 kbit/s)		— OOK (multi-carrier OOK) ? ?
mmWave
(WiGig)		DMG [36] 802.11ad December 2012602160
(2.16 GHz)		Up to 8085 [37]
(8 Gbit/s)		—OFDM, [A] single carrier, low-power single carrier [A] 3.3 m (11 ft) [38]  ?
802.11aj April 201860 [H] 1080 [39] Up to 3754
(3.75 Gbit/s)		—single carrier, low-power single carrier [A]  ? ?
CMMG 802.11aj April 201845 [H] 540,
1080		Up to 15015 [40]
(15 Gbit/s)		4 [41] OFDM, single carrier ? ?
EDMG [42] 802.11ay July 202160Up to 8640
(8.64 GHz)		Up to 303336 [43]
(303 Gbit/s)		8 OFDM, single carrier10 m (33 ft)100 m (328 ft)
Sub 1 GHz (IoT)TVHT [44] 802.11af February 2014 0.054–
0.79 		6, 7, 8Up to 568.9 [45] 4 MIMO-OFDM  ? ?
S1G [44] 802.11ah May 20170.7, 0.8,
0.9		1–16Up to 8.67 [46]
(@2 MHz)		4 ? ?
Light
(Li-Fi)		LC
(VLC/OWC)		 802.11bb December 2023
(est.)		800–1000 nm20Up to 9.6 Gbit/s—O-OFDM  ? ?
IR [A]
(IrDA)		 802.11-1997 June 1997850–900 nm ?1, 2— PPM [A]  ? ?
802.11 Standard rollups
 802.11-2007 (802.11ma)March 20072.4, 5Up to 54 DSSS, OFDM
802.11-2012 (802.11mb)March 20122.4, 5Up to 150 [D] DSSS, OFDM
802.11-2016 (802.11mc)December 20162.4, 5, 60Up to 866.7 or 6757 [D] DSSS, OFDM
802.11-2020 (802.11md)December 20202.4, 5, 60Up to 866.7 or 6757 [D] DSSS, OFDM
802.11meSeptember 2024
(est.)		2.4, 5, 6, 60Up to 9608 or 303336 DSSS, OFDM
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 This is obsolete, and support for this might be subject to removal in a future revision of the standard
  2. ↑ For Japanese regulation.
  3. 1 2 IEEE 802.11y-2008 extended operation of 802.11a to the licensed 3.7 GHz band. Increased power limits allow a range up to 5,000 m. As of 2009, it is only being licensed in the United States by the FCC.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Based on short guard interval; standard guard interval is ~10% slower. Rates vary widely based on distance, obstructions, and interference.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 For single-user cases only, based on default guard interval which is 0.8 microseconds. Since multi-user via OFDMA has become available for 802.11ax, these may decrease. Also, these theoretical values depend on the link distance, whether the link is line-of-sight or not, interferences and the multi-path components in the environment.
  6. 1 2 The default guard interval is 0.8 microseconds. However, 802.11ax extended the maximum available guard interval to 3.2 microseconds, in order to support Outdoor communications, where the maximum possible propagation delay is larger compared to Indoor environments.
  7. ↑ Wake-up Radio (WUR) Operation.
  8. 1 2 For Chinese regulation.

802.11be Task Group

The 802.11be Task Group is led by individuals affiliated with Qualcomm, Intel, and Broadcom. Those affiliated with Huawei, Maxlinear, NXP, and Apple also have senior positions. [17]

Commercial availability

Hardware

Qualcomm announced its FastConnect 7800 series on 28 Feb 2022 using 14 nm chips. [47] [48] As of March 2023, the company claims 175 devices will be using their Wi-Fi 7 chips, including smartphones, routers, and access points. [49]

Broadcom followed on 12 April 2022 with a series of 5 chips covering home, commercial, and enterprise uses. [50] The company unveiled its second generation Wi-Fi 7 chips on 20 June 2023 featuring tri-band MLO support and lower costs. [51]

The TP-Link Archer BE900 wireless router was available to consumers in April 2023. [52] The company's Deco BE95 mesh networking system was also available that month. Asus, Eero, Linksys and Netgear had Wi-fi 7 wireless routers available by the end of 2023.

The ARRIS SURFboard G54 is a DOCSIS 3.1 cable gateway featuring Wi-Fi 7. It became available in October 2023.

Lumen's Quantum Fiber W1700K and W1701K are WiFi 7 certified and provided with their 360 WiFi offering. It is the first device made for a major Telecommunications Provider that's certified for WiFi 7. [53]

The Wi-Fi Alliance maintains a list of Wi-Fi 7 certified devices.

Software

Android 13 and higher provide support for Wi-Fi 7. [54]

The Linux 6.2 kernel provides support for Wi-Fi 7 devices. [55] The 6.4 kernel added Wi-Fi 7 mesh support. [56] Linux 6.5 included significant driver support by Intel engineers, particularly support for MLO. [57]

Support for Wi-Fi 7 was added to Windows 11, as of build 26063.1. [58] [59]

Notes

  1. ↑ MCS 9 is not applicable to all combinations of channel width and spatial stream count.
  2. ↑ Per spatial stream
  3. ↑ GI stands for guard interval.
  1. 1 2 3 4 Named by retroactive inference. It does not exist in the official nomenclature. [1] [2] [3]
  2. ↑ 802.11ac only specifies operation in the 5 GHz band. Operation in the 2.4 GHz band is specified by 802.11n.
  3. ↑ Wi-Fi 6E is the industry name that identifies Wi-Fi devices that operate in 6 GHz. Wi-Fi 6E offers the features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 extended into the 6 GHz band.
  4. ↑ The Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying Wi-Fi 7 devices in 2024, but as of January 2025 the IEEE standard 802.11be is yet to be ratified.

References

  1. ↑ Kastrenakes, Jacob (3 October 2018). "Wi-Fi Now Has Version Numbers, and Wi-Fi 6 Comes Out Next Year". The Verge. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  2. ↑ Phillips, Gavin (18 January 2021). "The Most Common Wi-Fi Standards and Types, Explained". MUO - Make Use Of. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Wi-Fi Generation Numbering". ElectronicsNotes. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "MCS table (updated with 80211ax data rates)". semfionetworks.com.
  5. ↑ "Understanding Wi-Fi 4/5/6/6E/7". wiisfi.com.
  6. ↑ Reshef, Ehud; Cordeiro, Carlos (2023). "Future Directions for Wi-Fi 8 and Beyond". IEEE Communications Magazine . 60 (10). IEEE. doi:10.1109/MCOM.003.2200037 . Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "What is Wi-Fi 8?". everythingrf.com. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Giordano, Lorenzo; Geraci, Giovanni; Carrascosa, Marc; Bellalta, Boris (21 November 2023). "What Will Wi-Fi 8 Be? A Primer on IEEE 802.11bn Ultra High Reliability". arXiv: 2303.10442 .
  9. ↑ "Wi-Fi 7". Wi-Fi Alliance. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Mark (8 January 2024). "Wi-Fi Alliance Officially Certifies Kit for New Wi-Fi 7 Standard". ISPreview UK. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Shankland, Stephen (3 September 2019). "Wi-Fi 6 is barely here, but Wi-Fi 7 is already on the way – With improvements to Wi-Fi 6 and its successor, Qualcomm is working to boost speeds and overcome congestion on wireless networks". CNET . Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  12. 1 2 Khorov, Evgeny (8 May 2020). "Current Status and Directions of IEEE 802.11be, the Future Wi-Fi 7". IEEE . 8: 88664–88688. Bibcode:2020IEEEA...888664K. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2993448 . S2CID   218834597.
  13. ↑ "Wi-Fi Generations". Wi-Fi Alliance. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  14. ↑ López-Pérez, David (12 February 2019). "IEEE 802.11be – Extremely High Throughput: The Next Generation of Wi-Fi Technology Beyond 802.11ax". arXiv: 1902.04320 [cs.IT].
  15. 1 2 "Wi-Fi 7 Explained: A Solid Upgrade from 6E | Dong Knows Tech". dongknows.com. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "IEEE 802.11, The Working Group Setting the Standards for Wireless LANs". www.ieee802.org. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  17. 1 2 "IEEE P802.11 – TASK GROUP BE (EHT) – GROUP INFORMATION UPDATE". www.ieee802.org. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "The Next Generation of Wi-Fi Is Officially Here. But You Don't Need It (Yet)". The New York Times. 16 February 2024. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  19. ↑ Boever, Nick (17 January 2024). "The First Wi-Fi 7 Certified Devices Have Begun to Hit the Market". CEPRO. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  20. ↑ "Intel® Wi-Fi 7 Series Products and Solutions with Intel® Wi-Fi 7..." Intel. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  21. 1 2 Davis, Wes (16 October 2023). "What is Wi-Fi 7 – and do you even need it?". The Verge . Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "802.11be Project Authorization Request (PAR)" . Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  23. ↑ Dave Cavalcanti; Jerome Henry; Ganesh Venkatesan (November 2003). "IEEE 802.11 features towards RAW". IETF .
  24. ↑ Wi-Fi TSN Capabilities datatracker.ietf.org
  25. ↑ 802.1 TSN over 802.11 with updates from developments in 802.11be ieee802.org
  26. ↑ E. Khorov; I. Levitsky; I. F. Akyildiz (2020). "Current Status and Directions of IEEE 802.11be, the Future Wi-Fi 7". IEEE Access. 8 (in press). IEEE: 88664–88688. Bibcode:2020IEEEA...888664K. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2993448 .
  27. ↑ "Official IEEE 802.11 working group project timelines". 26 January 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  28. ↑ "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n: Longer-Range, Faster-Throughput, Multimedia-Grade Wi-Fi Networks" (PDF). Wi-Fi Alliance . September 2009.
  29. 1 2 Banerji, Sourangsu; Chowdhury, Rahul Singha. "On IEEE 802.11: Wireless LAN Technology". arXiv: 1307.2661 .
  30. ↑ "The complete family of wireless LAN standards: 802.11 a, b, g, j, n" (PDF).
  31. ↑ The Physical Layer of the IEEE 802.11p WAVE Communication Standard: The Specifications and Challenges (PDF). World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science. 2014.
  32. ↑ IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems- Local and Metropolitan Area Networks- Specific Requirements Part Ii: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications. (n.d.). doi:10.1109/ieeestd.2003.94282
  33. 1 2 "Wi-Fi Capacity Analysis for 802.11ac and 802.11n: Theory & Practice" (PDF).
  34. ↑ Belanger, Phil; Biba, Ken (31 May 2007). "802.11n Delivers Better Range". Wi-Fi Planet. Archived from the original on 24 November 2008.
  35. ↑ "IEEE 802.11ac: What Does it Mean for Test?" (PDF). LitePoint. October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2014.
  36. ↑ "IEEE Standard for Information Technology" . IEEE Std 802.11aj-2018. April 2018. doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.2018.8345727.
  37. ↑ "802.11ad – WLAN at 60 GHz: A Technology Introduction" (PDF). Rohde & Schwarz GmbH. 21 November 2013. p. 14.
  38. ↑ "Connect802 – 802.11ac Discussion". www.connect802.com.
  39. ↑ "Understanding IEEE 802.11ad Physical Layer and Measurement Challenges" (PDF).
  40. ↑ "802.11aj Press Release".
  41. ↑ "An Overview of China Millimeter-Wave Multiple Gigabit Wireless Local Area Network System". IEICE Transactions on Communications. E101.B (2): 262–276. 2018. doi: 10.1587/transcom.2017ISI0004 .
  42. ↑ "IEEE 802.11ay: 1st real standard for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) via mmWave – Technology Blog". techblog.comsoc.org.
  43. ↑ "P802.11 Wireless LANs". IEEE. pp. 2, 3. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  44. 1 2 "802.11 Alternate PHYs A whitepaper by Ayman Mukaddam" (PDF).
  45. ↑ "TGaf PHY proposal". IEEE P802.11. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  46. ↑ "IEEE 802.11ah: A Long Range 802.11 WLAN at Sub 1 GHz" (PDF). Journal of ICT Standardization. 1 (1): 83–108. July 2013. doi:10.13052/jicts2245-800X.115.
  47. ↑ Altavilla, Dave. "Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 Unveiled: World's First Wi-Fi 7 Solution For Blistering 5.8 Gbps Connectivity". Forbes. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  48. ↑ "FastConnect 7800 | Qualcomm". www.qualcomm.com. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  49. ↑ "Leading Wi-Fi 7 Momentum at MWC Barcelona". www.qualcomm.com. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  50. ↑ "Embracing Wi-Fi 7, Broadcom Intros 5 Chips | Dong Knows Tech". dongknows.com. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  51. ↑ "Broadcom Updates Wi-Fi 7 Portfolio with Lower Cost Second Generation Silicon".
  52. ↑ "Unboxing del primer router Wi-Fi 7 del mundo: Tp-Link Archer BE900 💡". BandaAncha.eu (in Spanish). 5 April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  53. ↑ "Lumen is first in the industry to achieve a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7™ device". Lumen Newsroom. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  54. ↑ "Android 13 review". 20 October 2022.
  55. ↑ "Linux 6.2 Brings Network-Related Updates, Adds 800 Gbps and WiFi 7 Support - SDxCentral" . Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  56. ↑ "Linux 6.4 Has Many Networking Changes from a New Performance Tunable to More WiFi 7".
  57. ↑ "Linux 6.5 Continues Making Preparations for WiFi 7, Enabling New Hardware".
  58. ↑ Blog, Windows Insider (22 February 2024). "Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26063 (Canary Channel)". Windows Insider Blog. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  59. ↑ Carrasqueira, João (22 February 2024). "Windows 11 preview adds support for Wi-Fi 7". XDA Developers. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
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