This article explains the distinct definitions, technical standards, security methods, coverage ranges, transmission speeds, and typical use cases of WLAN and Wi‑Fi, clarifying how Wi‑Fi is a specific standard within the broader WLAN ecosystem.
The article analyzes the SIGCOMM 2022 paper introducing Zhuge, a wireless‑AP‑only solution that separates congestion feedback from the data path to shrink the control loop, dramatically cutting tail latency and boosting real‑time communication performance.
This article explains why Wi‑Fi 7 is needed, outlines its release timeline, compares it with Wi‑Fi 6, details its new technical features such as wider bandwidth, Multi‑RU, 4096‑QAM, Multi‑Link and enhanced MIMO, and highlights the key application scenarios that will benefit from its higher throughput and lower latency.
Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) is a forthcoming wireless standard that promises peak speeds over 40 Gbps—up to four times faster than Wi‑Fi 6—by using wider 320 MHz channels, 4096‑QAM, multi‑link operation, and advanced OFDMA and MU‑MIMO technologies across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, with devices expected to appear by late 2023 or early 2024.
Wi‑Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be EHT) introduces 320 MHz bandwidth, 4096‑QAM, Multi‑RU, Multi‑Link, enhanced MU‑MIMO and coordinated multi‑AP scheduling, delivering up to 30 Gbps throughput and ultra‑low latency for demanding applications such as 8K video, AR/VR, gaming, cloud and industrial IoT.
