By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Imagine a single, uniform Wi-Fi connectivity ‘blanket’ delivering consistently excellent data rates and low latencies everywhere – even at the coverage edge. That is the primary goal and vision for the capabilities of the next Wi-Fi standard – Wi-Fi 8 – due to be launched in early 2028 (although some devices will likely be released sooner). The first full draft of the new standard – for now still called IEEE 802.11bn – was approved last week.
What can we expect from the next Wi-Fi standard? Qualcomm says Wi-Fi 8 will deliver consistently high data rates and low latencies everywhere within a given Wi-Fi coverage area including faster speeds where it matters. “Peak data rates won’t be higher than for Wi-Fi 7 but average data rates certainly will be because Wi-Fi 8 will deliver consistently improved performance and reliability. Compare it to driving your car on a smooth surface with no bumps, no missing tarmac, no potholes – just an excellent experience,” says Rolf de Vegt, VP Technical Standards at Qualcomm.
The first full draft (Draft 1.0) of the IEEE 802.11bn standard was approved by the IEEE 802.11 Working Group last week, which means a substantial part of the core specifications have now been (mostly) agreed upon. This also means that the work on implementing parts of the new standard can begin in earnest. “This of course doesn’t mean there won’t be changes but it is confirmation that much of the standard is now settled and in a stable form,” Rolf de Vegt says.
As always the new standard will consist of a number of features aimed at improving various parts of the Wi-Fi experience. The set of features principally responsible for creating a ‘blanket’ of high-performance, ultra-reliable connectivity is called multi-AP coordination, which in essence means that APs will work together intelligently to provide a consistent, uniform service. “This is important everywhere but in particular in high-density, mobile environments and where there is congestion. Wi-Fi 8 will be so reliable that it will deliver wired-like performance, including for mission-critical use cases,” he says.
Another important Wi-Fi 8 feature – also involving new forms of coordination between APs – is seamless roaming. “We’ve defined something called Single Mobility Domain, which means that clients will be able to move smoothly between APs without traditional hand-offs, which can cause packet loss and other interruptions. Seamless roaming will significantly improve the user experience on the move, whether it is within the home or enterprise, even for industrial applications using autonomous systems for logistics or manufacturing,” Rolf de Vegt says.
The new standard will also boost Wi-Fi performance at the coverage edge by improvements to the physical (radio) layer. This is done by introducing new mobile coding schemes (MCSs) and new methods for how coding schemes are managed. This is one more way in which Wi-Fi 8 will improve connectivity performance and drive down latency on average across a Wi-Fi coverage area, Qualcomm says. Standards documentation estimates that Wi-Fi 8 will deliver 25% higher throughput under ‘challenging signal conditions’, 25% lower latency, and 25% fewer dropped packets, especially during roaming.
Last but not least Wi-Fi 8 will include features for managing the coexistence of peer-to-peer connected devices with network-based Wi-Fi. This also includes better methods for managing in-device coexistence leading to smoother operations when multiple radios (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ultra-wideband) share spectrum and/or antennas, Qualcomm says. Finally, Wi-Fi 8 will introduce features for more efficient residential gateway and AP energy management.
“We’re excited about Wi-Fi 8 also because ultra-reliable Wi-Fi connectivity is critical in order to realise of all kinds of AI-based applications and use cases serving both businesses and consumers, now and in the future. A lot of the big vision for an AI-powered future depends on exactly this,” says Rolf de Vegt.
For more details read this blog by Qualcomm. Also: Don’t miss Rolf de Vegt and our extended team of experts on August 13 as a we dive into all the Wi-Fi 8 details in our first Wi-Fi 8 webinar – register here.
/Claus.
