Once upon a time, Wi-Fi was just Wi-Fi. You’d have your modem and Wi-Fi router, and you’d be forgiven if you hadn’t a clue what version of Wi-Fi the router ran because it didn’t matter! Then Wi-Fi 6 happened, and all of a sudden, it was like, “Oh, Wi-Fi 6 is so fast! I upgraded my home and office routers, and now I can fly!” Well, I’m here to let you know that MediaTek Wi-Fi 7 Live Demos are happening today. If you have no idea what I am talking about, get ready to have your mind blown.
Okay, so as I said, today MediaTek is doing the world’s first live demo (insert jazz-hands here) of Wi-Fi 7 technology. In fact, they’re doing not one but two Wi-Fi demos for key customers and industry types to showcase the tech’s super fast speeds and low latency transmissions.
That means the tech is imminent, and it is only a matter of time before those of you with super fast broadband have yet another reason to cluck your tongues and look down your noses at those of us living in the sticks.
That’s okay; we’re used to it.
Anyway.
The rollout of Wi-Fi 7 will mark the first time that Wi-Fi can be a true wireline/Ethernet replacement for super high-bandwidth applications. MediaTek’s Wi-Fi 7 technology will be the backbone of home, office and industrial networks and provide seamless connectivity for everything from multi-player AR/VR applications to cloud gaming and 4K calls to 8K streaming and beyond. – Alan Hsu, corporate vice president and general manager of the Intelligent Connectivity business at MediaTek.
The whole point of the MediaTek Wi-Fi 7 live demos is to show how their Wi-Fi 7 Filogic technology can reach the maximum speeds defined by IEEE 802.11be and demonstrate their multi-link operation (MLO) technology.
What’s that, you say?
Okay, so MLO technology basically aggregates multiple channels on different frequencies bands simultaneously, showing how network traffic can still flow seamlessly even if there is interference or congestion on the bands.
That means that if dad is streaming TV in the den, and junior is live-gaming in his bedroom, and the six security cams outside the house are working flawlessly, and the smart thermostat is connected, and the 15″ Alexa Show in the dining room is flashing a photostream, mom can still manage to stream her favorite (non-downloaded) Spotify playlists without hiccups while she takes a bubble bath.
Doesn’t that sound lovely?
If we want to have faster and more reliable video streaming, gaming, and everything else that requires constant, sustained, and real-time throughput, MLO technology is critical. With access to faster broadband internet access in some areas and more demanding higher resolution video streaming and VR gaming, guess what? Your three-year-old router isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Sorry if I’m the first to tell you that, but the truth hurts.
I mean your router, specifically, because I’m over here paying out the nose and lucky to get 60Mbps down on a good day and maybe 20Mbps up from my wireless provider in BFE West Texas. And you dare to wonder why I haven’t bothered to upgrade my first-gen eero? Never mind that I spent over $500 on the system and it still works perfectly for what it has to work with. SIGH.
If you live in a relatively urban area and are enjoying ridiculous broadband speeds in the hundreds of Mbps or better, I know that you simply can’t understand, but the struggle is real.
Here’s the deal: you can be paying for super fast broadband, and you can have a super fast modem catching all that broadband goodness, but if you’re using some old router that doesn’t know what to do with all of that broadband magic and how to manage all of the smart home devices that you have connected to it, then you might as well downgrade your broadband package because your wireless speeds and everything you have connected to that router are just going to suffer.
If you’re paying for stupid-fast broadband internet, shouldn’t you have a router that can handle it? Well, that’s what we thought Wi-Fi 6 and 6E was for, but there’s a new sheriff in town.
Wi-Fi 7’s advances in channel width, QAM, and new features such as multi-link operation (MLO) will make Wi-Fi 7 very attractive for devices including flagship smartphones, PCs, consumer devices, and vertical industries like retail and industrial; as service providers begin to deploy a wider spectrum of hotspots across these market segments. – Mario Morales, group vice president, Semiconductors at IDC
Oh, just rub it in my face, Mario, sheesh!
MediaTek has been involved with developing Wi-Fi 7 ever since some engineer said, “of course, we can make it even faster and blow past Wi-Fi 6! Faster, harder, stronger, we’ve got this!”
All bitterness aside, MediaTek was one of the first companies to jump into Wi-Fi 7 technology. Today we’ll get a glimpse of what you city-dwellers can consider the “new normal” while the rest of us troglodytes are just struggling to get to where you were five or six years ago. Again, SIGH.
Not that I’m bitter or anything.
Okay, maybe I am, a little.
Today’s consumers want an always-connected, reliable, and fast Wi-Fi connection for many applications such as video calls, 4K/8K TV entertainment, real-time gaming, and others. MediaTek’s Wi-Fi 7 technology can fulfill the current need for all the applications consumers enjoy today and also open the door for future AR/VR applications which we can’t even imagine today. – said Moon Ho Lee, president at Korea Mercury.
You’re right, Moon Ho Lee, we do! But until the US decides to follow Korea’s lead and actually invest in broadband for everyone willing to pay for it, some of us are going to be sitting here twiddling our thumbs, hoping that one day our part of the country will freaking catch up!
In the meantime, those of us who live in the middle of nowhere can drool about the thought that Wi-Fi 7 will deliver “2.4 times faster speeds than Wi-Fi 6!”
What does that even mean? I ask that as someone who probably won’t need to invest in a better eero system for another five years, at least. FML.
For the rest of you lucky people, products with Wi-Fi 7 are expected to hit the market starting in 2023. Have fun with that!
seems beneficial
Thanks for the detailed explanation. Nah, I’m not bitter, just well adjusted to living with less.