This news of the next generation of Wi-Fi definitely made waves at CES 2024. The event buzzed with announcements of lots of new devices that support Wi-Fi 7 — from smartphones, to smart home devices, to more innovative devices — the industry has begun gearing up to embrace the power of Wi-Fi 7. Google Fiber is no exception — we’re excited about the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification of Wi-Fi 7 because it opens the door to even more multi-gig speeds and reduced latency over Wi-Fi networks.
The biggest innovation with Wi-Fi 7 is Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which allows packets to be sent over multiple frequencies simultaneously. Prior generations of Wi-Fi only used one frequency band at a time.This means that one device which supports Wi-Fi 7 can talk to an access point over multiple radios and frequency bands at the same time.
Wi-Fi 7 devices can select from either a 2.4, 5, or 6 GHz band and are able to choose the Wi-Fi band that offers the most efficient and reliable path to the router. The result is lower latency and improved reliability, resulting in a better experience for internet users.
We know that great wireless internet is key to our customers’ in-home experience, so we spend a lot of time working on making it better (even when it’s already good). In 2023, we deployed Wi-Fi 6E routers with tri-band connectivity, built to handle more devices with fewer slowdowns.
Our focus and commitment to delivering speed to the home and in the home is exactly why we’re including a Wi-Fi 7 router for GFiber Labs 20 Gig customers. Wi-Fi 7 is a longer-term solution, if you’re thinking about purchasing a new smartphone, TV, tablet, computer, or other devices in 2024, you may want to consider whether they are Wi-Fi 7 compatible. You can have the latest high-powered router but the compatibility of your Wi-Fi devices also impacts your online experience. Our device guide can help determine Wi-Fi compatibility for your devices.
CES exhibitors unveiled cool new devices and products that support Wi-Fi 7 and are coming soon. Dell introduced two new laptops — the Dell XPS 16 laptop and the Dell Alienware M15 R2 gaming laptop, which are expected to be released in Q1 '24. Samsung announced its Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphone, and Acer announced a new gaming router; the Wi-Fi 7 Predator Connect X7 5G CPE, which offers dual connectivity (an ethernet network and 5G service).
Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification of Wi-Fi 7 ushers in a host of new possibilities, and GFiber is committed to making sure that our customers can harness the speed of their internet. Expect more from us soon to help make your in-home internet even faster.
Posted by Ishan Patel, Product Manager
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