The World's First Wi-Fi 7 Demo Reached Speeds 2.4 Times Faster Than Wi-Fi 6

The next generation of Wi-Fi is just around the corner.

Taiwan-based semiconductor firm MediaTek successfully conducted the first-ever live demo for Wi-Fi 7 technology, according to a report from DigitalTrends. The company also stated that it expects Wi-Fi 7 products to become available next year in anticipation of the launch of the next-gen Wi-Fi sometime around 2024.

In a press statement, the company said it showed off the "super-fast speeds and low latency transmission" of its Wi-Fi 7 Filogic technology to "key customers and industry collaborators." Wi-Fi 7, as shown in MediaTek's demo, will deliver 2.4 times more speed than Wi-Fi 6, even using the same number of antennas.

This, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance, means that Wi-Fi 7 could provide speeds of more than 30 gigabits per second (Gbps) and close to 40Gbps. As ArsTechnica points out, the still relatively new Wi-Fi 6 reaches speeds of up to 9.6Gbps.

"Wi-Fi 7’s advances in channel width, QAM, and new features such as multi-link operation (MLO) will make Wi-Fi 7 very attractive for devices including flagship smartphones, PCs, consumer devices and vertical industries like retail and industrial; as service providers begin to deploy a wider spectrum of hotspots across these market segments," said Mario Morales, group vice president, Semiconductors at IDC.

The first time Wi-Fi will be a 'true Ethernet replacement'

While the next generation of Wi-Fi will support demanding applications such as cloud gaming and 8K video streaming, it will be compatible with all the available spectrums, including 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz. MediaTek also said its new multi-link operation (MLO) technology, which combines multiple channels on different frequency bands, will allow for more stable 8K streaming and cloud gaming. The company said Wi-Fi 7 will remove the need for Ethernet cables for users looking for a more stable connection.

"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, and general manager 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."

Though MediaTek has mentioned it will release Wi-Fi 7 products by 2023, the next-gen Wi-Fi likely won't be certified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) until 2024. Wi-Fi 7, also known as the IEEE 802.11be standard, is still in the draft specification stage, meaning we will still have to patiently wait for those improved connections speeds.