We get a little lost there. During the presentation of his new Freebox Ultra on January 30, Xavier Niel, the boss of Iliad, widely praised, in addition to the increased range of services of his new fiber box, its Wifi 7 compatibility. Freshly certified (January 8 2024 by the Wi-Fi Alliance), the new wireless transmission standard – also called 802.11be – opens up exciting prospects for our uses. 20 minutes explains how. And tell you what for.
The end of a failed Internet
Wifi, it must be admitted, is a bit technical. But the Freebox Ultra, the first Internet box in the world compatible with Wifi 7, has serious advantages on paper. Which requires some clarification.
Does your Internet slow down when the whole family at home tries to connect simultaneously? The series you are watching in streaming is interrupted for a few seconds and then resumes? As for your online games, let’s not talk about it: is your responsiveness weighed down by a capricious network? Wifi 7 may therefore meet your needs.
This evolution of Wifi 6 and Wifi 6E first uses three frequency bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (already used by Wifi 5 and Wifi 6), but also 6 GHz (used only by Wifi 6E). The addition of 6 GHz is an asset… for the moment.
Still very little used, therefore not congested, this frequency band will allow users to benefit from a greater connection speed.
A third way to get out of traffic jams
This will be particularly significant in cities where the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands are often saturated. With Wifi 7, it’s a bit as if, next to a two-lane highway blocked during rush hour, a third lane suddenly opened: traffic becomes smoother and everyone can move more quickly . In this case with a frequency width of up to 320 MHz (on the 6 GHz band only). Yes, it’s complicated. But it’s super fast: “In fact, it’s as if the road created had twice the width of the traditional road, and that the vehicles were moving on it at considerable speed”, deciphers Lionel Paris, network product expert for Netgear.
Another advantage of Wifi 7: so-called “multi-link” operation (or MLO for Multi-Link Operations). This consists, for the same use, of the possible use of several frequency bands. If one of the three bands used by the box is too busy, another is automatically used. And two bands out of the three available can even be combined. This has the effect of increasing throughput and benefiting from a much more reliable network. “This is a great first in the world of WiFi. For the first time, we are combining two frequency bands out of the three, as if 5 GHz and 6 GHz were becoming one to create an even bigger pipe,” explains Lionel Paris of Netgear, which has just launched its router Wi-Fi 7 Nighthawk RS700S.
Upon arrival, Wifi 7 promises theoretical speeds of up to 46 Gbit/s, compared to 9.6 Gbit/s for Wifi 6 and Wifi 6E. These speeds are impressive if we compare them especially to the 3.5 Gbit/s which correspond to those which are currently the most widespread with the old generation boxes which equip most homes.
But what is Wifi 7 for?
So it is true that on paper, Wifi 7 is a dream when you already have fiber at home. But not everyone will need Wifi 7 right away. The increased bandwidth will, however, offer you a much better quality experience, especially if there are several of you, under the same roof, using the network at the same time. Who for entertainment; who to work; who to play. And all Wifi 6E products already available will be able to benefit from the 6 GHz of Wifi 7 without waiting. Especially since up to a hundred devices can be connected to the same Wifi 7 box without performance being slowed down!
With latency reduced by a hundred times, gamers will undoubtedly emerge as the first winners by gaining considerably in fluidity (for playing in 4K streaming, for example). It’s the end of the G, total fun for wireless play! But also for games anchored in virtual or augmented reality whose precision always requires more performance in terms of connectivity. If Wifi 7 is backward compatible with Wifi 5 and Wifi 6 equipment, native Wifi 7 devices will obviously offer optimized performance. There are currently 80 Wifi 7 compatible devices. There should be 200 to 300 by the end of the first quarter of 2024. And it’s only just beginning.