By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
WiFi NOW has identified 85 verified ISP Wi-Fi 7 deployments worldwide – and 43 of them (50.6%) support the 6 GHz band. Those are two key findings from our new Wi-Fi 7 ISP Deployment Tracker. Together they paint an encouraging picture of Wi-Fi 7 as well as 6 GHz adoption among broadband service providers across the globe.
Research conducted by WiFi NOW (and available at the WiFi NOW Resource Centre for members) shows that Wi-Fi 7 is no longer confined to a small collection of pioneering operators or a handful of early flagship launches. Our country-by-country research across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa has identified 85 verified commercial Wi-Fi 7 ISP deployments.
Our second finding may be even more significant: More than half of those deployments – 43 out of 85 – support 6 GHz. Wi-Fi 7 can of course operate in the traditional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz unlicensed bands but 6 GHz unlocks a large amount of additional spectrum enabling multi-gigabit per second Wi-Fi operation in 320 MHz channels, one of Wi-Fi 7’s defining features.
The finding is notable because 6 GHz spectrum regulations still vary considerably between countries. In some markets the full 6 GHz band is available for Wi-Fi, while in others only part of it (the lower half) is available. In some countries 6 GHz Wi-Fi has yet to be authorised.
Wi-Fi 7 deployment is geographically broad
Another important result is how widely distributed the 85 deployments are: The US and Europe accounts for substantial Wi-Fi 7 activity, but our research also identified commercial Wi-Fi 7 deployments across Canada and Mexico, as well as numerous deployments throughout Asia-Pacific.
Our deeper country-by-country review of Latin America uncovered considerably more activity than initially apparent, including deployments in Brazil and elsewhere. Wi-Fi 7-capable commercial broadband services have also been launched in the Middle East and Africa. This matters because perceived early adoption of a new Wi-Fi generation can easily be distorted by the visibility of a handful of large operators. Examining ISPs country by country produces a more complete picture of the market.
Fibre and Wi-Fi 7 are increasingly deployed together
Another clear pattern is the relationship between next-generation broadband access and next-generation home Wi-Fi. Operators investing in multi-gigabit fibre need an in-home wireless platform capable of delivering more of that capacity to actual devices. Multi-gigabit broadband services become considerably less compelling if the home Wi-Fi network remains the bottleneck – and operators understand this.
Wi-Fi 7 is therefore increasingly being commercialised as part of the premium broadband proposition rather than simply as another router specification. Multi-gigabit Ethernet, mesh networking, 6 GHz spectrum where available, and Wi-Fi 7 are being combined into a complete high-performance residential broadband platform.
The transition is still at an early stage
Many Wi-Fi 7 launches remain concentrated in premium tiers, new gateways, or selected fibre packages, which means that the transition from Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E is far from complete. But the tracker provides strong proof of substantial market momentum. The 6 GHz share is particularly encouraging because it suggests that a significant proportion of operators adopting Wi-Fi 7 are also deploying the spectrum capabilities needed to extract more of the technology’s performance potential.
The complete WiFi NOW Wi-Fi 7 ISP Deployment Tracker, including all 85 verified deployments organised by country and region and information on which services support 6 GHz, is available exclusively to WiFi NOW Resource Centre members. Membership is free.
/Claus.
