Wi-Fi 7 – The Future of Connectivity
Author: Joachim Geiger
Wi-Fi 7 is already considered a milestone in the history of wireless communication. The new standard sets new benchmarks, particularly in terms of speed, data capacity and reliability. DEKRA plays a key part in the global introduction of the new Wi-Fi standard - conducting connectivity and interoperability tests in test laboratories authorized by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Since the beginning of 2024, a new standard has been available for air interfaces for local wireless networks, promising excellent performance even for applications with high bandwidth in a dense environment. "Wi-Fi 7 will bring major improvements in user experience, on the basis of significantly higher speeds, reduced latency and improved reliability. This will enable the development of a wide range of innovative applications," explains Lourdes Sánchez, Director of Connectivity at DEKRA Testing and Certification, S.A.U. in Malaga, Spain. Potential areas of application include ultra-high-resolution videos, virtual and augmented reality, as well as electronic games and the industrial Internet of Things (IoT).
DEKRA is Europe's first Authorized Test Laboratory (ATL) for Wi-Fi 7 certification
DEKRA plays a key part in the certification process with the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED label. The expert organization is the first Authorized Test Laboratory (ATL) to receive approval to certify Wi-Fi 7 devices at three locations simultaneously: Guangzhou (Mainland China), Taiwan and Malaga. "We are delighted to be the first laboratory in Europe to be accredited for the certification of Wi-Fi 7 products. This milestone reflects our agility in integrating new services and shows DEKRA's commitment to innovation," Lourdes Sánchez reports.
Now, the DEKRA product testing laboratory in Stuttgart (Germany), which qualifies as an Authorized Test Laboratory (ATL) for the Wi-Fi Alliance, has now also joined this exclusive trio. Therewith, DEKRA is expanding the focus of its Wi-Fi testing services specifically to the automotive sector. Automotive manufacturers and suppliers are likely to benefit from this strategic move. “The new Wi-Fi lab underlines our commitment to supporting technology development in the automotive sector with testing and certification solutions that ensure greater security in the mobility ecosystem,” Stan Zurkiewicz, CEO of DEKRA, emphasizes. Connectivity technologies such as Wi-Fi are particularly important for automated and connected driving, where a reliable connection is crucial for seamless communication between vehicles and infrastructure.
The new Wi-Fi standard sets the bar by introducing new and improved technologies
But what is Wi-Fi 7 really all about? Does the new standard really set new benchmarks? "Wi-Fi 7 operates on the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands as well as on 6 GHz. That in itself is not new. Wi-Fi 7 also uses technologies that can already be found in one form or another in other versions of the 802.11 standard," DEKRA expert Sánchez explains. The crucial point is that developers are consistently exploiting the possibilities of the technology by combining new technologies with enhancements of existing solutions. A completely new technology used in Wi-Fi 7 for the first time, for example, is Multi Link Operation (MLO). In principle, MLO enables data to be sent and received simultaneously across multiple frequency bands.
In the home network, a Wi-Fi router could establish a connection to a smartphone or games console via one channel each in the 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands and send the data packets on their way simultaneously on several frequency bands. In this way, Wi-Fi 7 is primarily intended to increase performance and improve data transfer reliability.
Wi-Fi 7 data transmission over the various frequency bands could also be visualized as a type of traffic system. Here, a single-lane country road (2.4 GHz), a two-lane highway (5 GHz) and a high-speed route with up to seven lanes (6 GHz) would be located next to each other. The lanes themselves have different widths (channel width), and the lanes of the high-speed route have been specially expanded to twice the width (320 MHz) for Wi-Fi 7. However, Wi-Fi 7 takes not only the infrastructure, but also transportation and traffic control to a higher level. The vehicles (the signals) traveling on the various routes have been upgraded and the respective cargo (the data) has been optimally packed and stored. In case of a traffic jam on one section of the route, traffic can be diverted from one route to another in an instant or distributed over several routes (MLO). In case of a disruption in one lane such as a road works site, the relevant section would be closed promptly and a detour set up using the remaining lanes and traffic can continue to flow largely unhindered.
Wi-Fi 7 certification entails a great amount of work for the test laboratories
One typical example of upgrades to existing technology is the channel width within the 6 GHz frequency band. The channel width in the 6 GHz band has been expanded from 160 MHz to 320 MHz, which doubles the capacity for data transmission and the speeds for connected devices. The so-called Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), on the other hand, is a tried and tested technology used in earlier standards that improves the efficiency and capacity of data transmission in wireless networks. With Wi-Fi 6, the modulation rate is 1024 QAM, whereas with Wi-Fi 7 it is a remarkable 4096 QAM. This results in a significant increase in the data transmission rate and therefore a higher throughput in the network.
"As a result, the interaction of highly developed technologies leads to spectacular performance. With the same radio configuration, Wi-Fi 7 should achieve up to 2.4 times higher data transmission speeds compared to Wi-Fi 6," explains Lourdes Sánchez. It is obvious that Wi-Fi 7 will bring about a new generation of routers, tablets, PCs, and smartphones. Wi-Fi Alliance expects its members to introduce more than 233 million electronic devices to the market in 2024. This figure is expected to rise to 2.1 billion by 2028.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) - a globally active professional association of engineers, technicians and scientists – is the leading institution for the definition and development of radio standards; it has now introduced its newest standard, the IEEE 802.11be. In terms of data flow, efficiency and data security, this is the evolutionary culmination of more than a dozen derivations of the IEEE 802.11 standard, which was initially introduced in 1997.
Modern IEEE standards such as 802.11ac (introduced in 2013), 802.11ax (introduced in 2019), and 802.11be (introduced 2024) are better known today under their brand names Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6, and Wi-Fi 7. This is thanks to an interest group of developers, manufacturers and sellers of products used for wireless communication that was founded in 1999: This so-called Wi-Fi Alliance is to a certain extent the guardian of the IEEE standard – it not only holds the naming rights for the term Wi-Fi, but is also responsible, among other things, for the "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED" certification program, which guarantees interoperability between Wi-Fi devices and awards the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo for corresponding proof.
Good to know: Wireless networks vs. Wi-Fi
In German-speaking countries, the term WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) is often used when talking about network technologies. WLAN and Wi-Fi are then usually used synonymously - which is not entirely correct. It is true that both are local area networks. WLAN, like Wi-Fi, can also be technically based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. However, it is possible that this standard has not been fully implemented or has been modified by extensions. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is based on an IEEE standard and also has a certification that confirms the respective technical solution. The bottom line is that every Wi-Fi is a wireless network, but not every wireless network is a Wi-Fi.