The Magnificent Seven: A Look at the Next Generation of Wi-Fi

From time to time, the world experiences a technological frenzy when established technologies are displaced by new ones. This was the emergence of the first Wi-Fi networks and the very fact that the Internet can be not only via wires. Then the transition from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 5, and in cellular networks, from 3G to 4G, as well as the introduction of fiber optics into mass-market solutions and the corresponding high-speed data plans.

Right now, 2025 is the year of the global adoption of the IEEE 802.11be standard, widely known as Wi-Fi 7. On paper, it promises an increase in maximum over-the-air data transfer speeds to an incredible 46 Gbps. Э his is 13 times higher than the speed limit of Wi-Fi 5 and almost five times higher than Wi-Fi 6. The numbers are, of course, incredible. And that’s the main reason why the tech news cycle is filled with bold statements like "a revolution," "a breakthrough," and "the future is already here."

Wi-Fi 7 is often positioned as a catalyst for digital transformation, fundamentally changing how people and businesses interact in the wireless space. But how “revolutionary” is what’s being proposed? After all, technologies and the products based on them don't exist in a vacuum. Their effectiveness is determined by how they integrate into a real-world context, from home scenarios to corporate applications.

The title of this article echoes a recent presentation by our colleague, in which he discussed the key technologies of Wi-Fi 7 in detail. We, however, will try to look at this topic from a different angle – through the prism of its emerging implementation, as well as the conditions and limitations that inevitably follow any new technology. In conclusion, we will share our plans for developing our product line with Wi-Fi 7 support.

We will briefly outline the technologies most often cited as the key advantages of Wi-Fi 7. This will help to understand their application conditions later on. You can also learn more about these in the presentation mentioned above.

• Simultaneous multi-band operation. One of the main innovations is the Multi-Link Operation (MLO) technology. Devices on previous standards could switch between ranges (for example, between 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz), but could operate only in one at a time. Wi-Fi 7 allows devices to use up to three bands simultaneously. This makes the connection more stable and faster – especially when one of the channels is congested. The technology allows the system to dynamically choose the optimal path for each data packet, taking into account current channel congestion, signal quality, and traffic priority.
• New channel width. Wi-Fi 7 supports channel width up to 320 MHz in the 6 Ghz band – twice as wide as Wi-Fi 6. More data can pass through such a channel in a given amount of time, which results in higher performance.
• Denser data packing. Wi-Fi 7 uses a more efficient signal modulation – 4096-QAM. Each packet carries more information – 12 bits instead of the 10 bits used in Wi-Fi 6. This increases transfer speed, especially over short distances where the signal is stable. However, the more congested the airwaves are, the less effectively the technology works.
• Efficient spectrum use. Wi-Fi 6 implemented the OFDMA mechanism – it divides the channel into multiple subchannels (Resource Units – RU) to serve several clients at once. But in case of interference, efficiency would drop, forcing the use of less-congested but smaller sub-channels. Wi-Fi 7 solves this problem with Multi Resource Units (MRU) technology. It allows combining several separate subchannels at once. This increases flexibility in resource allocation and allows maintaining high speed even in congested air conditions.
• 16×16 MU-MIMO support. Wi-Fi 7 expands the capabilities of MU-MIMO technology compared to Wi-Fi 6, which offers 8×8 MU-MIMO. The technology allows for more efficient use of available bandwidth, distributing it among multiple clients without significant performance degradation for each individual device.

Since 2024, when the standard was ratified, the Wi-Fi 7 market has begun to grow rapidly. According to experts, solutions based on it are being implemented faster than any previous standard. Globally, it is predicted to grow eightfold, from $6 billion in 2025 to $50 billion in 2034. These figures reflect the market's optimism and its need for high-performance wireless solutions.

However, the speed of the new standard's adoption varies by region. There are several reasons for this, and we'll outline just a few.

Unlicensed frequency spectrum regulation. A key advantage of Wi-Fi 7 is the ability to use the 6 GHz band with channels up to 320 MHz width. However, the availability of this band varies greatly from country to country. In the US and Canada, regulators have allocated 1200 MHz for Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band (5925 – 7125 MHz). In many European countries and in Russia, only 500 MHz (5925 – 6425 MHz) is available, which limits the use of wide channels.

The situation in China is interesting. According to Jeff Heynen, Dell'Oro Group’s Vice President of Broadband Access and Home Networking, “… despite China’s unwillingness to adopt the 6 GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use [they are used for the development of 5G and 6G networks. – our note], the Asian country is actually driving early adoption of Wi-Fi. And that’s because operators there are deploying low-cost units that do not take advantage of the 6 GHz band. However, it is very critical to these operators to be able to market Wi-Fi 7, even if the full capabilities of Wi-fi 7 – as defined in the specifications – aren’t available.” For example, major Chinese operators China Unicom and China Telecom are actively deploying Wi-Fi 7 devices with 2×2 MU-MIMO capabilities.

Slow adoption of multi-gigabit wired Internet. The wired part of the network often becomes a bottleneck for Wi-Fi 7. To realize the standard's potential with its multi-gigabit speeds, a corresponding infrastructure is needed. Multi-gigabit connections are still not very common, even in developed countries. We have already discussed this in our previous article.

The situation is gradually changing. Operators are increasingly investing in modernizing access networks, partly by transitioning to modern XGS-PON fiber optic technology. We have already written about how this transition is accelerating: multi-gigabit is becoming not just a technological prospect, but a step in the evolution of operator services. This trend will play a key role in unlocking the potential of Wi-Fi 7 in the coming years. For example, major European providers, particularly in France, are offering a comprehensive solution for subscribers: a multi-gigabit plan with a symmetrical speed of up to 8 Gbps, plus a Wi-Fi 7- and Mesh-enabled CPE device for whole-home coverage.

Device compatibility and availability. To fully utilize Wi-Fi 7, you need not only routers and access points, but also compatible client devices. Currently, such devices make up less than 5% of the market. Flagship smartphones released in 2024 – 2025 already support the standard, but the mass-market segment is far behind. According to experts, the situation will change dramatically by 2028, when more than 2.1 billion Wi-Fi 7-enabled devices will be shipped.

There are no systematic studies of the implementation of Wi-Fi 7 in Russia yet. Therefore, the market can be described based on the general trends and conditions we have discussed above. It has good prospects for the new standard's adoption: digitalization programs and the development of domestic wireless solutions are creating favorable conditions for demand growth.

The adoption of Wi-Fi 7 is currently at the stage of interest due to the accumulated experience with Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6. It is expected that this will soon shift towards the actual implementation of such solutions.

 As in other countries, much depends on the specifics of radio spectrum regulation. Additionally, Russia retains a high proportion of wired networks that are not ready to provide the required performance for new-generation wireless networks. The spread of XGS-PON in the mass-market and business segments will help to remove this limitation.

In the consumer segment, Wi-Fi 7 is positioned as a technology designed to handle a high density of connected devices and the simultaneous operation of demanding services – from ultra-high-resolution streaming to the use of cloud applications, IoT, and AR/VR platforms.

Gamers show the most interest in the standard – an audience sensitive not only to speed but also to connection quality. Modern online games require a stable connection with minimal latency. This is where the advantages of Wi-Fi 7 are most noticeable.

Experts from the IDC analytical agency consider 2025 an important year for the expansion of Wi-Fi 7 in the corporate segment: “By the end of 2025, we forecast about 17% of enterprise-class dependent AP revenue will be Wi-Fi 7, and by 2027, about half of new enterprise-class dependent AP revenues will be Wi-Fi 7”. The new standard opens up new opportunities for creating dense wireless environments, especially amid digital transformation, the active implementation of IIoT, and the growing number of connected devices in both industrial and office infrastructures.

However, a clear difference immediately emerges regarding the application of relevant technologies compared to the consumer segment. According to a study by the Wireless Broadband Alliance, 4096-QAM technology and 320 MHz bandwidth are practically not applicable to corporate deployments, which are relevant to the consumer segment.

A 320 MHz channel in the 6 GHz band provides only three channels in countries with permitted frequencies up to 7125 MHz and only one full channel in countries where frequencies are limited to 6425 MHz, such as in Russia. Therefore, corporate solutions prefer narrower and more flexibly managed channels, such as 40, 80, or 160 MHz, which are easier to plan, scale, and prevent mutual interference between access points. Key technologies become MLO, which provides traffic aggregation and load balancing between different bands, and MRU, which optimizes resource distribution among clients in high-density conditions.

Thus, Wi-Fi 7 solutions in a corporate environment are more about making the network more reliable, flexible, and efficient when handling diverse traffic. Nevertheless, the mentioned study indicates a twofold performance increase compared to Wi-Fi 6E solutions under the same conditions with channel widths of 40, 80, and 160 MHz in the 5 and 6 GHz bands.

We are confident that Wi-Fi 7 will become a reliable technological foundation for building flexible, scalable, and high-performance wireless networks. As demands for connection quality grow, the standard's applicability is widely felt.

Eltex devices with Wi-Fi 7 support are already in development and will be available by the end of this year. These are two high-performance indoor access points – the first domestic Wi-Fi 7 solutions for corporate use:

• WEP-550K with support for 4×4 MU-MIMO, three bands (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz), and PoE++ power;
• WEP-500K with support for MU-MIMO 2×2, three bands (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz), and PoE+ power.

Both models will be integrated into the Eltex wireless solutions ecosystem and will be supported by all current WLC series software and hardware Wi-Fi controllers. In the future, we plan to expand our line of solutions supporting the new standard for both the corporate and consumer markets.

We see that this new phase in Wi-Fi development isn't about a "revolutionary" reset of past experience, but rather a re-evaluation of previous achievements. For us, Wi-Fi 7 is a logical evolution of previous standards, aimed at solving specific problems: increasing connection stability, improving performance in overloaded airwaves, and supporting modern digital interaction scenarios. However, like any standard, it unlocks its potential not on its own, but in conjunction with infrastructure and real-world operating conditions.

For us, it's not just important to be among the first to offer Wi-Fi 7 solutions on the Russian market, but to do so thoughtfully – considering customer requirements and environmental specifics.

Wi-Fi 7 promises a lot, and it generally delivers on those promises. In the coming years, it will become more actively adopted in professional and mass-market scenarios, and the development of solutions based on it will enable the creation of a new level of wireless environment.