CES 2024 | WiFi 7 is ready

Just in time for the start of CES 2024 in Las Vegas, the WiFi Alliance has announced the completion of the standardization of WiFi 7. From now on, customers can expect certified devices, even if the benefits of WiFi 7 are limited, especially in Europe.

The certification of future devices is made possible by companies such as Broadcom, Commscope Ruckus, Intel, Maxlinear, Mediatek, and Qualcomm, which form the basis against which the devices must be tested. According to the WiFi Alliance, they are also the first to come onto the market with certified systems. Some, of course, only as components for routers or access points.

Accordingly, a number of WiFi-related presentations can be expected at CES, also from rather unusual manufacturers. Acer, for example, will take the opportunity to enter the European market with WLAN routers.

One of the new features of the standard is the use of 320 MHz wide channels - a doubling compared to Wifi 6E. The biggest problem, however, is that only one of these channels can be used in Europe. Here, only half of the frequency band is released.

Multi-link operation, comparable to carrier aggregation, is particularly interesting for high device densities, for example, at trade fairs or in stadiums. It is unlikely to be of much use for home use. The other functions also offer only a minor advantage for home use, as the biggest change, the introduction of the 6 GHz band, has already been implemented with Wifi 6E.

Nonetheless, the introduction of WiFi 7 Certified provides customers with the certainty that the devices will deliver what they promise, as the WiFi Alliance now provides appropriate controls.