In the United States, only one out of 50 houses currently uses a Wi-Fi 7 router, but the next generation of wireless routers is already on the way. New details on Wi-Fi 8 had just released by Qualcomm, the standard which should be finalized in 2028.
While Wi-Fi 7 is a question of speed, increasing the maximum amount of data that could be transmitted from 2.4 Gbit / s to 5.8 Gbit / s, Wi-Fi 8 will focus on improving reliability. The initiative is called ultra high reliability, and indicates that its objective makes connections “faster, more reactive and more robust”.
The reality is that most of us have all the Wi-Fi speed we need. Online games and videoconferencing do not require more than 50 Mbps, but American median cleaning obtains 288 Mbps. The real point of pain for most of us is when our Internet falls or fails to reach parts of the house. These are the problems that Wi-Fi 8 seeks to solve.
“During the generations, we have experienced significant increases in flow, speeds and zone. Now, we are at a stage where we really have to make sure that we have very high quality, reliable and low latency user experience,” Cnet Rolf de Vegt, vice-president of the technical standards of Qualcomm, told CNET.
According to the Scope document published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Wi-Fi 8, or 802.11bn, will have the following objectives:
- At least 25% higher flow under stimulating signal conditions.
- 25% of latency lower than 95th centile latency distribution.
- 25% fewer packages dropped, especially during the roaming between access points.
Wi-fi for an AI world
Many of the improvements described in the Wi-Fi 8 scope predicting a world in which AI is deeply rooted in daily life. Rather than raw data flow being the North Wi-Fi star, responsiveness and reliability are now priority.
“By 2028, you are in a situation where there are a large amount of devices that depend completely on continuous, high speed and low latency connectivity,” explains Vegt. “With things like AI, there is a significant dependence on higher reliability for your Wi-Fi.”
Wi-Fi 8 engineers also work to develop a standard that can hold in difficult environments where the limits of congestion, interference and coverage have altered the user experience in the past. The Qualcomm report cites the increase in “ecosystems of personal devices” such as augmented reality glasses, health monitors and portable technology as a reason to improve the dynamism of local Wi-Fi networks.
“Anyway, integrated, integrated into intelligent or autonomous environments, AI -led systems require reliable and low latency connectivity to access Edge or AI based on the cloud for real -time inference,” writes from VEGT in the Qualcomm ratio.
Improvement of the Wi-Fi range
A large part of the reliability objective of the Wi-Fi 8 standard is to maintain a continuous connection on several access points. One of the new features is called single mobility areas, which allows devices to keep a transparent connection when they move in a space. In past Wi-Fi standards, slight interruptions or drops of packets were common as the device is transmitted to another access point.
The extended beach will also be one of the main improvements in Wi-Fi 8 routers, with a “range of physical layer improvements” added to maintain high quality connections to the external limits of the cover of a router.
These routers will also be designed to operate in high density environments such as apartments or airports, where overlapping signals can often cause a laggetic and slow connection. Wi-Fi 8 routers will have something called multi-AP, or access point, coordination. This function will allow routers to work together rather than independently of sharing resources between access points.
How to improve your Wi-Fi connection now
Three years is still long to wait for a more reliable Wi-Fi. Fortunately, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 routers offer even more than enough speed for most households, and there are several things you can do to increase the reliability of your network at the moment:
- Go to a mesh system: Many Wi-Fi routers list the cover areas up to 5,000 square feet, but I generally recommend going to a mesh system if your home is greater than 2500 square feet. This will mainly eliminate Wi-Fi dead areas in your home, using each room in solid and stable Wi-Fi.
- Prioritize traffic on your router: Most routers today are delivered with quality of service parameters that allow you to prioritize traffic to specific devices. If you want to make sure that your work meeting or online game is never interrupted, it’s a great option. You can usually configure these settings in the application of your router.
- Buy your own router: 71% of Internet subscribers in the United States of rent of the equipment of their supplier. Learn from my mistake: this will save you long-term money to buy your own router (and maybe MoDem). You could even get a good increase in speed in the process. When I exchanged my XFINITY equipment with a budgetary modem and router, my speeds went from 164/5 Mbps to 237/118 Mbps.
- Move your router: When I spoke to two Wi-Fi technicians earlier this year, they told me that one of the most common errors they see when you work on domestic networks is the placement of Wi-Fi routers. Because they are not the most aesthetic gadgets to look at, many people are tempted to hide them in a wardrobe, behind the sofa or on the ground. This can considerably decrease the strength of your router signal. For the best connection, your router should ideally be in a central room in the house, a few meters from the floor and somewhere you can see it. If you can, also move it at least one foot from the wall.
