According to MediaTek’s press release, Wi-Fi 7 aka IEEE 802.11be will bring a 2.4 times speed boost over Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax). It uses the same 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands that the existing Wi-Fi standard use. However, changes and improvements in other technologies make for faster speeds. The new Wi-Fi standard can make use of the 320Mhz channels and 4K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) technology. It also brings improvements to MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), allowing for up to 16 spatial streams. Additionally, the use of MLO (Multi-link Operation), which simultaneously transmits signals on multiple bands, makes for reduced latency as well. “MLO technology aggregates multiple channels on different frequencies bands at the same time to highlight how network traffic can still flow seamlessly even if there is interference or congestion on the bands,” Mediatek explains. The result is much higher speeds and sustained real-time throughput without having to increase the number of antennas. Employing multi-user resource unit (MRU) features also helped in reducing the interference from other wireless signals.
MediaTek makes a big leap forward in Wi-Fi development
MediaTek has been one of the early adopters of the Wi-Fi 7 technology. The company says it has been involved in the development of the next-gen wireless standard since its inception. It has now made a big leap forward by showcasing the world’s first live demo of the new technology. Thanks to the recent developments, MediaTek now expects Wi-Fi 7-compatible products to hit the market from next year. However, do not that the complete Wi-Fi 7 standard isn’t expected to roll out until 2024. So the early products will be based on the draft specification of the next-gen wireless technology. You can expect to hear more about the new technology in the interim. “The rollout of Wi-Fi 7 will mark the first time that Wi-Fi can be a true wireline/Ethernet replacement for super high-bandwidth applications,” said Alan Hsu, a corporate vice president at MediaTek. “MediaTek’s Wi-Fi 7 technology will be the backbone of home, office and industrial networks and provide seamless connectivity for everything from multi-player AR/VR applications to cloud gaming and 4K calls to 8K streaming and beyond.”
