# Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi generationsvte :
| Generation | Visual | IEEE standard | Adopted | Maximum link rate (Mbit/s) | Radio frequency (GHz) |
| — | — | 802.11 | 1997 | 1–2 | 2.4 |
| — | — | 802.11b | 1999 | 1–11 | 2.4 |
| — | — | 802.11a | 1999 | 6–54 | 5 |
| — | — | 802.11g | 2003 | 6–54 | 2.4 |
| Wi-Fi 4 | | 802.11n | 2009 | 6.5–600 | 2.4, 5 |
| Wi-Fi 5 | | 802.11ac | 2013 | 6.5–6933 | 5 |
| Wi-Fi 6 | | 802.11ax | 2021 | 0.4–9608 | 2.4, 5 |
| Wi-Fi 6E | | 802.11ax | 2021 | 0.4–9608 | 6 |
| Wi-Fi 7 | | 802.11be | 2024 | 0.4–23,059 | 2.4, 5, 6 |
| Wi-Fi 8 | — | 802.11bn | | 100,000 | 2.4, 5, 6 |
IEEE 802.11be, dubbed Extremely High Throughput (EHT), is a wireless networking standard in the IEEE 802.11 set of protocols which is designated Wi-Fi 7 by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It has built upon 802.11ax, focusing on WLAN indoor and outdoor operation with stationary and pedestrian speeds in the 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz frequency bands.
Throughput is believed to reach a theoretical maximum of 46 Gbit/s, although actual results are much lower.
Development of the 802.11be amendment began with an initial draft in March 2021 with a final version expected by the end of 2024. Despite this, numerous products were announced in 2022 based on draft standards, with retail availability in early 2023. On 8 January 2024, the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced its Wi-Fi Certified 7 program to certify Wi-Fi 7 devices. While final ratification wasn't expected until the end of 2024, the technical requirements were essentially complete.

## Core features

The following are core features that have been approved as of Draft 3.0:
* 4096-QAM (4K-QAM) enables each symbol to carry 12 bits rather than 10 bits, resulting in 20% higher theoretical transmission rates than WiFi 6's 1024-QAM. This feature is not mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.
* Contiguous and non-contiguous 320/160+160 MHz and 240/160+80 MHz bandwidth. This feature is not mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.
* Multi-Link Operation (MLO), a feature that increases capacity by simultaneously sending and receiving data across different frequency bands and channels. (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz). This feature is mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.
* 16 spatial streams and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) protocol enhancements.
* Flexible Channel Utilization – Interference currently can negate an entire Wi-Fi channel. With preamble puncturing, a portion of the channel that is affected by interference can be blocked off while continuing to use the rest of the channel. This feature is mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.
* Multiple Resource Unit (MRU) – Improves OFMDA technology from Wi-Fi 6, allowing a single user to have multiple Resource Units. This feature is mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.

## Candidate features

The main candidate features mentioned in the 802.11be Project Authorization Request (PAR) are:
* Multi-Access Point (AP) Coordination (e.g. coordinated and joint transmission),
* Enhanced link adaptation and retransmission protocol (e.g. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)).
* If needed, adaptation to regulatory rules specific to 6 GHz spectrum.
* Integrating Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) IEEE 802.1Q extensions for low-latency real-time traffic:
** IEEE 802.1AS timing and synchronization
** IEEE 802.11aa MAC Enhancements for Robust Audio Video Streaming (Stream Reservation Protocol over IEEE 802.11)
** IEEE 802.11ak Enhancements for Transit Links Within Bridged Networks (802.11 links in 802.1Q networks)
** Bounded latency: credit-based (IEEE 802.1Qav) and cyclic/time-aware traffic shaping (IEEE 802.1Qch/Qbv), asynchronous traffic scheduling (IEEE 802.1Qcr-2020)
** IEEE 802.11ax Scheduled Operation extensions for reduced jitter/latency

## Additional features

Apart from the features mentioned in the PAR, there are newly introduced features:
* Frame formats with improved forward-compatibility.
* Enhanced resource allocation in OFDMA.
* Implicit channel sounding, optimized to require less airtime.
* Support for direct links, managed by an access point.

## Rate set

Modulation and coding schemes :
| MCS index | Modulation type | Coding rate | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) | Data rate (Mbit/s) |
| MCS index | Modulation type | Coding rate | 20 MHz channels | 20 MHz channels | 20 MHz channels | 40 MHz channels | 40 MHz channels | 40 MHz channels | 80 MHz channels | 80 MHz channels | 80 MHz channels | 160 MHz channels | 160 MHz channels | 160 MHz channels | 320 MHz channels | 320 MHz channels | 320 MHz channels |
| MCS index | Modulation type | Coding rate | 3200 ns GI | 1600 ns GI | 800 ns GI | 3200 ns GI | 1600 ns GI | 800 ns GI | 3200 ns GI | 1600 ns GI | 800 ns GI | 3200 ns GI | 1600 ns GI | 800 ns GI | 3200 ns GI | 1600 ns GI | 800 ns GI |
| 0 | BPSK | 1/2 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 31 | 34 | 36 | 61 | 68 | 72 | 123 | 136 | 144 |
| 1 | QPSK | 1/2 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 29 | 33 | 34 | 61 | 68 | 72 | 122 | 136 | 144 | 245 | 272 | 288 |
| 2 | QPSK | 3/4 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 44 | 49 | 52 | 92 | 102 | 108 | 184 | 204 | 216 | 368 | 408 | 432 |
| 3 | 16-QAM | 1/2 | 29 | 33 | 34 | 59 | 65 | 69 | 123 | 136 | 144 | 245 | 272 | 282 | 490 | 544 | 577 |
| 4 | 16-QAM | 3/4 | 44 | 49 | 52 | 88 | 98 | 103 | 184 | 204 | 216 | 368 | 408 | 432 | 735 | 817 | 865 |
| 5 | 64-QAM | 2/3 | 59 | 65 | 69 | 117 | 130 | 138 | 245 | 272 | 288 | 490 | 544 | 576 | 980 | 1089 | 1153 |
| 6 | 64-QAM | 3/4 | 66 | 73 | 77 | 132 | 146 | 155 | 276 | 306 | 324 | 551 | 613 | 649 | 1103 | 1225 | 1297 |
| 7 | 64-QAM | 5/6 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 146 | 163 | 172 | 306 | 340 | 360 | 613 | 681 | 721 | 1225 | 1361 | 1441 |
| 8 | 256-QAM | 3/4 | 88 | 98 | 103 | 176 | 195 | 207 | 368 | 408 | 432 | 735 | 817 | 865 | 1470 | 1633 | 1729 |
| 9 | 256-QAM | 5/6 | 98 | 108 | 115 | 195 | 217 | 229 | 408 | 453 | 480 | 817 | 907 | 961 | 1633 | 1815 | 1922 |
| 10 | 1024-QAM | 3/4 | 110 | 122 | 129 | 219 | 244 | 258 | 459 | 510 | 540 | 919 | 1021 | 1081 | 1838 | 2042 | 2162 |
| 11 | 1024-QAM | 5/6 | 122 | 135 | 143 | 244 | 271 | 287 | 510 | 567 | 600 | 1021 | 1134 | 1201 | 2042 | 2269 | 2402 |
| 12 | 4096-QAM | 3/4 | 131 | 146 | 155 | 263 | 293 | 310 | 551 | 613 | 649 | 1103 | 1225 | 1297 | 2205 | 2450 | 2594 |
| 13 | 4096-QAM | 5/6 | 146 | 163 | 172 | 293 | 325 | 344 | 613 | 681 | 721 | 1225 | 1361 | 1441 | 2450 | 2722 | 2882 |
| 14 | BPSK-DCM-DUP | 1/2 | | | | | | | 7 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 31 | 34 | 36 |
| 15 | BPSK-DCM | 1/2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 31 | 34 | 36 | 61 | 68 | 72 |

## Comparison

vte802.11 network standards :
| Frequency range, or type | PHY | Protocol | Release date | Freq­uency | Bandwidth | Stream data rate | Max. MIMO streams | Modulation | Approx. range | Approx. range |
| Frequency range, or type | PHY | Protocol | Release date | Freq­uency | Bandwidth | Stream data rate | Max. MIMO streams | Modulation | In­door | Out­door |
| Frequency range, or type | PHY | Protocol | Release date | (GHz) | (MHz) | (Mbit/s) | Max. MIMO streams | Modulation | In­door | Out­door |
| 1–7 GHz | DSSS, FHSS | 802.11-1997 | June 1997 | 2.4 | 22 | 1, 2 | — | DSSS, FHSS | 20 m (66 ft) | 100 m (330 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | HR/DSSS | 802.11b | September 1999 | 2.4 | 22 | 1, 2, 5.5, 11 | — | CCK, DSSS | 35 m (115 ft) | 140 m (460 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | OFDM | 802.11a | September 1999 | 5 | 5, 10, 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20 MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz) | — | OFDM | 35 m (115 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | OFDM | 802.11j | November 2004 | 4.9, 5.0 | 5, 10, 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20 MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz) | — | OFDM | ? | ? |
| 1–7 GHz | OFDM | 802.11y | November 2008 | 3.7 | 5, 10, 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20 MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz) | — | OFDM | ? | 5,000 m (16,000 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | OFDM | 802.11p | July 2010 | 5.9 | 5, 10, 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20 MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz) | — | OFDM | 200 m | 1,000 m (3,300 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | OFDM | 802.11bd | December 2022 | 5.9, 60 | 5, 10, 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20 MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz) | — | OFDM | 500 m | 1,000 m (3,300 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | ERP-OFDM | 802.11g | June 2003 | 2.4 | 5, 10, 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 (for 20 MHz bandwidth, divide by 2 and 4 for 10 and 5 MHz) | — | OFDM | 38 m (125 ft) | 140 m (460 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | HT-OFDM | 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) | October 2009 | 2.4, 5 | 20 | Up to 288.8 | 4 | MIMO-OFDM (64-QAM) | 70 m (230 ft) | 250 m (820 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | HT-OFDM | 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) | October 2009 | 2.4, 5 | 40 | Up to 600 | 4 | MIMO-OFDM (64-QAM) | 70 m (230 ft) | 250 m (820 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | VHT-OFDM | 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) | December 2013 | 5 | 20 | Up to 693 | 8 | DL MU-MIMO OFDM (256-QAM) | 35 m (115 ft) | ? |
| 1–7 GHz | VHT-OFDM | 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) | December 2013 | 5 | 40 | Up to 1600 | 8 | DL MU-MIMO OFDM (256-QAM) | 35 m (115 ft) | ? |
| 1–7 GHz | VHT-OFDM | 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) | December 2013 | 5 | 80 | Up to 3467 | 8 | DL MU-MIMO OFDM (256-QAM) | 35 m (115 ft) | ? |
| 1–7 GHz | VHT-OFDM | 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) | December 2013 | 5 | 160 | Up to 6933 | 8 | DL MU-MIMO OFDM (256-QAM) | 35 m (115 ft) | ? |
| 1–7 GHz | HE-OFDMA | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E) | May 2021 | 2.4, 5, 6 | 20 | Up to 1147 | 8 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (1024-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | HE-OFDMA | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E) | May 2021 | 2.4, 5, 6 | 40 | Up to 2294 | 8 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (1024-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | HE-OFDMA | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E) | May 2021 | 2.4, 5, 6 | 80 | Up to 5.5 Gbit/s | 8 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (1024-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | HE-OFDMA | 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E) | May 2021 | 2.4, 5, 6 | 80+80 | Up to 11.0 Gbit/s | 8 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (1024-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | EHT-OFDMA | 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) | Sep 2024 (est.) | 2.4, 5, 6 | 80 | Up to 11.5 Gbit/s | 16 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (4096-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | EHT-OFDMA | 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) | Sep 2024 (est.) | 2.4, 5, 6 | 160 (80+80) | Up to 23 Gbit/s | 16 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (4096-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | EHT-OFDMA | 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) | Sep 2024 (est.) | 2.4, 5, 6 | 240 (160+80) | Up to 35 Gbit/s | 16 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (4096-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | EHT-OFDMA | 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) | Sep 2024 (est.) | 2.4, 5, 6 | 320 (160+160) | Up to 46.1 Gbit/s | 16 | UL/DL MU-MIMO OFDMA (4096-QAM) | 30 m (98 ft) | 120 m (390 ft) |
| 1–7 GHz | UHR | 802.11bn (Wi-Fi 8) | May 2028 (est.) | 2.4, 5, 6, 42, 60, 71 | 320 | Up to 100000 (100 Gbit/s) | 16 | Multi-link MU-MIMO OFDM (8192-QAM) | ? | ? |
| 1–7 GHz | WUR | 802.11ba | October 2021 | 2.4, 5 | 4, 20 | 0.0625, 0.25 (62.5 kbit/s, 250 kbit/s) | — | OOK (multi-carrier OOK) | ? | ? |
| mmWave (WiGig) | DMG | 802.11ad | December 2012 | 60 | 2160 (2.16 GHz) | Up to 8085 (8 Gbit/s) | — | OFDM, single carrier, low-power single carrier | 3.3 m (11 ft) | ? |
| mmWave (WiGig) | DMG | 802.11aj | April 2018 | 60 | 1080 | Up to 3754 (3.75 Gbit/s) | — | single carrier, low-power single carrier | ? | ? |
| mmWave (WiGig) | CMMG | 802.11aj | April 2018 | 45 | 540, 1080 | Up to 15015 (15 Gbit/s) | 4 | OFDM, single carrier | ? | ? |
| mmWave (WiGig) | EDMG | 802.11ay | July 2021 | 60 | Up to 8640 (8.64 GHz) | Up to 303336 (303 Gbit/s) | 8 | OFDM, single carrier | 10 m (33 ft) | 100 m (328 ft) |
| Sub 1 GHz (IoT) | TVHT | 802.11af | February 2014 | 0.054– 0.79 | 6, 7, 8 | Up to 568.9 | 4 | MIMO-OFDM | ? | ? |
| Sub 1 GHz (IoT) | S1G | 802.11ah | May 2017 | 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 | 1–16 | Up to 8.67 (@2 MHz) | 4 | MIMO-OFDM | ? | ? |
| Light (Li-Fi) | LC (VLC/OWC) | 802.11bb | December 2023 (est.) | 800–1000 nm | 20 | Up to 9.6 Gbit/s | — | O-OFDM | ? | ? |
| Light (Li-Fi) | IR (IrDA) | 802.11-1997 | June 1997 | 850–900 nm | ? | 1, 2 | — | PPM | ? | ? |
| 802.11 Standard rollups |||||||||||
| | | 802.11-2007 (802.11ma) | March 2007 | 2.4, 5 | | Up to 54 | | DSSS, OFDM | | |
| | | 802.11-2012 (802.11mb) | March 2012 | 2.4, 5 | | Up to 150 | | DSSS, OFDM | | |
| | | 802.11-2016 (802.11mc) | December 2016 | 2.4, 5, 60 | | Up to 866.7 or 6757 | | DSSS, OFDM | | |
| | | 802.11-2020 (802.11md) | December 2020 | 2.4, 5, 60 | | Up to 866.7 or 6757 | | DSSS, OFDM | | |
| | | 802.11me | September 2024 (est.) | 2.4, 5, 6, 60 | | Up to 9608 or 303336 | | DSSS, OFDM | | |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 This is obsolete, and support for this might be subject to removal in a future revision of the standard ↑ For Japanese regulation. 1 2 IEEE 802.11y-2008 extended operation of 802.11a to the licensed 3.7 GHz band. Increased power limits allow a range up to 5,000 m. As of 2009, it is only being licensed in the United States by the FCC. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Based on short guard interval; standard guard interval is ~10% slower. Rates vary widely based on distance, obstructions, and interference. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 For single-user cases only, based on default guard interval which is 0.8 microseconds. Since multi-user via OFDMA has become available for 802.11ax, these may decrease. Also, these theoretical values depend on the link distance, whether the link is line-of-sight or not, interferences and the multi-path components in the environment. 1 2 The default guard interval is 0.8 microseconds. However, 802.11ax extended the maximum available guard interval to 3.2 microseconds, in order to support Outdoor communications, where the maximum possible propagation delay is larger compared to Indoor environments. ↑ Wake-up Radio (WUR) Operation. 1 2 For Chinese regulation. |||||||||||

## 802.11be Task Group

The 802.11be Task Group is led by individuals affiliated with Qualcomm, Intel, and Broadcom. Those affiliated with Huawei, Maxlinear, NXP, and Apple also have senior positions.

## Commercial availability
### Hardware

The Wi-Fi Alliance maintains a list of Wi-Fi 7 certified devices.

### Software

Android 13 and higher provide support for Wi-Fi 7.
The Linux 6.2 kernel provides support for Wi-Fi 7 devices. The 6.4 kernel added Wi-Fi 7 mesh support. Linux 6.5 included significant driver support by Intel engineers, particularly support for MLO.
Support for Wi-Fi 7 was added to Windows 11, as of build 26063.1.