Tips for Enterprises Evaluating Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi 7 has drawn great attention this past year with the creation of a product certification program from the Wi-Fi Alliance, the launch of access points and routers by top equipment vendors, and their ability to use frequencies in the wide-opened 6GHz band.

Looking ahead, organizations can also kick the tires on high-speed WiFi-7 services now offered by service providers Spectrum, Frontier, Ziply Fiber (a fiber ISP covering the Pacific Northwest) and to be acquired by Bell Canada and Quantum Fiber, with more due in 2025.

The Wi-Fi standard got a boost in the fall from Apple, which announced its latest device, the iPhone 16, comes equipped with support for Wi-Fi 7. It is also compatible with its closest predecessor, Wi-Fi 6E, which has been widely implemented by entertainment venues such as sports and concert stadiums across the U.S.

What is the forecast for Wi-Fi 7?

The Wi-Fi Alliance is forecasting more than 233 million Wi-Fi 7 devices to enter the market in 2024, growing to 2.1 billion devices by 2028.

“Access to the 6 GHz band is going to be a game changer for enterprises adopting Wi-Fi 7,” said Sian Morgan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group, a telecom market research and analysis firm. "However, organizations should be aware that the new Wi-Fi 7 APs are power hungry. To take full advantage of all the new functionality, a refresh to higher power switches may be in order."

Related:Wi-Fi 7 May Be Closer Than You Think

Wi-Fi 7 6 GHz Spectrum Land Grab

But the largest single allure of Wi-Fi 7 devices is their ability to rise beyond congested radio frequency bands such as 5 GHz and 6 GHz. Devices can already use multiple bands in previous Wi-Fi concurrently to send traffic, but now Wi-Fi 7's Multi-Link Operation (MLO) can include 6 GHz. And the devices can tap into the pristine 6 GHz band that the FCC has opened.

Product Choice

“All major vendors have now announced Wi-Fi 7 APs, although there is not a full portfolio of Wi-Fi 7 APs available from each vendor,” explained Morgan. “Enterprises and service providers may need to wait until 2025 to have the full range of Wi-Fi 7 choice, including high-end, low-end, and outdoor APs.”

Certification

Having launched its Wi-Fi 7 certification program this past January, the global Wi-Fi Alliance addressed interoperability between APs and routers and has since provided a wide array of informational assets and resources to assist users as they evaluate the latest Wi-Fi 7 version.

The Wi-Fi Alliance provides a helpful product finder tool on its website.

Spectrum access

The biggest game changer brought by Wi-Fi 7 is the access to the 6 GHz spectrum, Morgan said. "This means that the first adopters will be companies that have not yet upgraded to Wi-Fi 6E, which already supports the 6 GHz band. Enterprises operating Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 networks will be prime candidates for upgrading to the latest technology.

Enterprises should be aware of the different radio configurations available. With the addition of the new frequency band, some APs may be configured to allocate spatial streams to the different frequencies. “For instance, an enterprise could decide to allocate more spatial streams to the 5 GHz band until the penetration of devices supporting 6 GHz grows," according to Morgan.

Power usage vs. Full feature use

Those evaluating Wi-Fi 7 would be well served to spend time understanding power consumption by equipment and ways to manage it. New Wi-Fi 7 APs consume more power than Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 APs. “Enterprises will have to consider how much power is available from their existing switches, and an upgrade may be required,” advises Morgan. Some APs can disable features to conserve power in case an enterprise must wait to upgrade its switches, she added.

Cost control

Identifying common and hidden costs in a Wi-Fi installation, be it an upgrade or a greenfield instance, is crucial to budget accordingly and avoid unwanted surprises. New equipment that consumes more power than what you use now can mean higher ongoing operational costs, which are better to identify before proceeding with an upgrade to Wi-Fi 7.

Network management challenge

As enterprises move to newer versions of Wi-Fi, such as seven, to support more devices, often in the same space, managing such implementations will become more difficult. Access to the newly opened 6GHz band should act as an accelerant. Morgan has urged users to consider AI apps to help manage large radio networks.

A final word on Wi-Fi 7

Evaluating any technology for enterprise use can be a daunting task, especially emerging options such as the latest Wi-Fi standard. The features (speed, versatility, and less congestion) have been widely reported. However, the road to implementation contains challenges that should be addressed for an optimal rollout.