End of 2024, a year where WiFi 7 is just beginning to become widespread in the most advanced markets on the planet and we are already beginning to know information and details about WiFi 8.
Although the WiFi organization’s plan is to launch the Wi-Fi 8 standard approximately in the third quarter of 2028, the engineering teams are already working on the objectives that they want to achieve with the new generation, new techniques and technologies. to implement and have clear processes for interoperability.
The need for new generations and advanced connectivity techniques is created by the market. With the large number of routers, access points, Wi-Fi extenders that exist today, and with the constant growth of connected devices, it is essential to maintain a good user experience. To achieve this, we must be able to offer advanced services that require more from the network in terms of speed, latency, response time, reliability, bandwidth and other key aspects. Each application requires its own and the technology must be up to par to respond appropriately.
The focus of WiFi 8 will be on reliability, the term used is UHR (Ultra High Reliability), or Ultra High Reliability to support critical applications in healthcare and industrial automation. The promise of Wi-Fi 8 is also to improve coordination between different access points on the same network, improve the operation and coexistence of Wi-FI with cellular networks to avoid interruptions when we are on the move at home or in the office. Another important point is the optimization of the spectrum to increase data transmission speeds and further lower latency compared to Wi-Fi 7.
In Latin America, we still have a lot of Wi-Fi 4 and 5 and there are already countries implementing Wi-Fi 6/6E, which will surely accelerate the adoption of Wi-Fi 7 in the coming years and could shorten the adoption of Wi-Fi 8 in a few years, since they use the same bands. Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8 require the 6GHz band in addition to the traditional 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. This means that regulators in countries must approve unlicensed use of this band, a process that impacts how quickly new technologies like these can be implemented.
WiFi 7 and WiFi 8
Finally, this is the summary of the promises that Wi-Fi 8, also known as 802.11bn, will bring:
- 1. Seamless Connectivity Through Networks: Wi-Fi 8 provides seamless connectivity to your cellular network, ensuring uninterrupted internet access at home or on the go
- 2. Uninterrupted Performance: Experience stable connections for video calls, gaming, e-health, and industrial applications, thanks to Wi-Fi 8’s UHR design for demanding applications
- 3. Faster Speeds with Less Interference: Enjoy high-speed internet with minimized interference, increasing performance by up to 25% in homes with multiple devices. Wi-Fi 8 is expected to maintain the same maximum speed as Wi-Fi 7, i.e. around 23 Gbps. This means there will be no increase in speed, but there will be improvements in connection efficiency.
- 4. Optimized for Busy Homes/Office Environments: Wi-Fi 8 delivers faster download speeds and smoother streaming, even in busy environments with many connected devices
- 5. Improved Data Flow: Enhanced Modulation and Coding Schemes (MCS) increase transmission rates by up to 30%, ensuring efficient data flow throughout your network
- 6. Optimized for High Traffic: Dynamic Subchannel Operation (DSO) optimizes bandwidth usage, delivering speed improvements of up to 80% during peak traffic times
- 7. Technology Prepared for the Future and for high demand applications: Wi-Fi 8 is expected to be ideal for emerging applications that demand high bandwidth, such as massive 8K video streaming, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR), as well as use in cars and connected devices. Internet of Things (IoT), as well as the use of Artificial Intelligence or IoT at the edge for use in the smart home and business
- 8. Potential to transform smart cities: The ability to handle many connected devices and improved coexistence with cellular networks at once and improvements in coverage and latency will make Wi-Fi 8 essential in smart city infrastructure, where the number of connected devices increases dramatically. exponential
- 9. Lower energy consumption: One of the new features of this technology to come is the improvement in energy efficiency, which will allow connected devices to last longer on a single charge.
Although Wi-Fi 8 is currently still in an early phase of development, at MediaTek we are already preparing the new era of connectivity and prepared this infographic to simplify Wi-Fi 8. We invite you to download it by clicking on the link.
Wi-Fi 8 is going to represent a great qualitative change in wireless connectivity as we currently know it and will open the door to new applications and services that we currently cannot even imagine. This new standard promises to revolutionize the way we connect to the Internet, offering higher speeds, more stable connections, and greater energy efficiency. However, we will still have to wait a few years to be able to enjoy all its advantages.
