Test & measurement
WI-FI 7: THE NEXT LEAP IN WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
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i-Fi 7, also known as 802.11be, is the next- generation Wi-Fi standard and the most powerful, being five-times faster than
WiFi 6. Wi-Fi 7 supports up to 320 MHz channel bandwidths, doubling what Wi-Fi 6 offered. This allows more data to be transmitted in less time, which will have a significant impact on home, enterprise and industrial users. Factories, hospitals, large campuses, and smart cities all stand to benefit the most from Wi-Fi 7’s enhanced performance and reliability. For example, in Industry 4.0 environments increased throughput is essential for applications like high-resolution video monitoring, data-intensive analytics, and real-time control systems. While home user benefits will be felt in high-bandwidth, low-latency scenarios like 4K/8K streaming, AR/VR applications, and multiplayer gaming. Multi-Link Operation (MLO) allows devices to simultaneously use multiple Wi-Fi bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz) for data transmission and reception. This aggregates bandwidth for a more robust connection, delivering increased speed, reduced latency, and enhanced reliability. This is particularly beneficial for bandwidth- intensive applications and in congested network environments in industrial applications. For example, MLO’s lower and more predictable latency supports time-sensitive operations such as robotic control, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and remote maintenance, where even small delays can lead to downtime.
Wi-Fi 7 also supports 4096-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation). This packs more data into the same amount of radio frequency spectrum, resulting in higher data rates and more efficient use of available spectrum for faster transmission of large amounts of data. This is particularly beneficial in industrial environments where many sensors and machines may congest the spectrum. The higher data rates of Wi-Fi 7 make efficient use of the available bandwidth.
A new Wi-Fi 7 feature introduces channel puncturing for greater performance resilience in environments experiencing interference. While interference might cause the shut down of an entire channel in older Wi-Fi versions, Wi-Fi 7 can “puncture” or ignore just the affected portion of the channel to keep the rest of the communication
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By Matthew Russell, chief engineer (RF) at TÜV SÜD, a global product testing and certification organisation
flowing. This ensures greater reliability, especially in environments where partial spectrum interference is common, such as from Bluetooth or neighbouring networks.
Beyond speed, Wi-Fi 7 is also engineered for ultra-low latency. This is especially crucial for:
Industrial automation - Factories with robotic systems rely on real-time communication, so the smallest delay can result in costly production issues or machine collisions.
Real-time communication - Reduced latency improves clarity and interaction, for example for VoIP calls or video conferencing.
Online gaming - As Wi-Fi 7 minimises lag this enhances the end-user gaming experience.
DESIGN CHALLENGES
Wi-Fi 7 represents a major evolution in wireless networking, bringing significant enhancements in speed, stability, and latency reduction. However, this new technology also presents some challenges for designers and manufacturers:
Increased complexity: The sheer number of new features and their interactions in Wi-Fi 7 significantly increase the complexity of testing.
Higher performance requirements: Achieving the required RF performance for features like 4096-QAM demands meticulous design and manufacturing processes.
Spectrum management: Navigating the different regulatory landscapes for 6 GHz spectrum usage (which varies by country) is crucial.
Interoperability with legacy devices: Ensuring seamless operation with older Wi-Fi standards adds another layer of testing.
Time to market: Balancing the rigorous testing requirements with the need to bring products to market quickly is a constant challenge.
GLOBAL REGULATIONS
For those designing and manufacturing Wi-Fi7 enabled products, there is no single global standard for wireless device regulation. Designers
October 2025 Instrumentation Monthly
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