The evolution of WiFi technology is reshaping how businesses provide Internet access to their guests, visitors, residents and customers. 

Many businesses provide a WiFi service but don't know what WiFi generation they have installed in their devices nor what WiFi generation users have on their mobile devices. To clarify what a WiFi generation is, we have included a table listing the WiFi generations (from Wikipedia).

A WiFi generation is each step of the development of the technology. As shown in the table, each step of development provides a faster WiFi connection speed.

There is a gap of several years between each new WiFi version. Manufacturers develop chips for each version and the work is directed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) who draft the specifications and verify that the manufacturers have met the specifications. WiFi is the IEEE standard called 802.11 and one or two letters that follow 802.11 denote each step of development or generation.

Understanding the impact of the latest WiFi technologies, WiFi 6 (802.11ax) and WiFi 7 (802.11be) is crucial to comprehend how users experience the Internet speed in a WiFi service and for user experience regarding the network performance.

The importance of WiFi generations

Knowing the WiFi generation is important to understand how fast the WiFi might be. The Internet speed is not just the WiFi, but also the Internet service that the WiFi is connected to.

Many public WiFi services have old equipment installed that uses the WiFi 3 or WiFi 4 standards. In addition, older services are connected to slow Internet connections such as ADSL or cable. To have the benefits of the new WiFi generations then they must connect to a fast Internet service, of the type that is provided by fiber.

Businesses offering WiFi Internet services for guests, visitors, customers or residents should be aware of their network's WiFi generation and Internet speed for several reasons:

• Data Speed: Newer WiFi generations such as WiFi 6 and WiFi7 offer faster and more efficient data transmission.
• User Experience: The WiFi technology gap between the network and user devices can significantly affect connection quality. If the device trying to connect to the WiFi service has an older generation then the Internet speed will be slower.
• Future-Proofing: Upgrading to newer WiFi standards prepares businesses for increasing connectivity demands but for users to take full advantage of the technology they also need to have the same WiFi generation installed on their devices.
  

Even when the business upgrades to the latest technology, with WiFi 7 connected to a 1Gb/s or faster fiber service; the maximum speed that a device can connect is determined by the device WiFi chips. If the device has WiFi 4 chips then it will connect to the WiFi 7 wireless access points with WiFi4 speed.

How to identify the WiFi technology that you have installed?

The WiFi generation of a device is not shown in the device configuration. We have to look at the manufacturer's specifications or product label to find the WiFi speed. Low cost equipment may be manufactured with cheap chips that connect using the WiFi 4 standard (802.11n). Products with WiFi 6 will have been manufactured after 2021 or 2022 as the chips became available to the device manufacturers.

To determine your current WiFi generation check the manufacturer's guide or device label for IEEE standard numbers (e.g., 802.11ac for WiFi 5). The table shown previously lists each WiFi generation and shows the data connection speed.

The WiFi 7 Advantage

WiFi 7 brings substantial speed improvements over its predecessors:

• Increased Internet speed: Theoretical maximum speeds up to 40Gbps, 4x faster than WiFi 6E2.
• Enhanced bandwidth: Support for 320MHz channels, doubling the bandwidth of WiFi 6.
• Lower latency: Crucial for real-time applications like video conferencing and AR/VR2.

To get the advantage of the speed of WiFi 7 the following is required.

1. The business has installed WiFi 7 wireless access points with a Gbit Ethernet network.
2. The business is connected to the Internet with a 1Gb/s or faster fiber service.
3. The users device, smartphone or laptop has a WiFi 7 chip installed.

Considerations for upgrading the business network infrastructure

Before upgrading to WiFi 7, businesses should consider:

1. User device compatibility: Many current devices may not support WiFi 7, limiting the benefits for most users. This means that if users do not have the same WiFi generation as offered by the WiFi service, users will experience slow connections. This is a very important factor to consider before upgrading to WiFi 7 as it is an extra expense for the business and the business providing the WiFi service may not see improvement in user experience.
2. Cost-benefit analysis: Evaluate if the upgrade aligns with your business needs and customer expectations. It may be better to wait until this technology catches-up with mobile devices. If your customers, visitors, guests and residents already have the latest WiFi generations installed on their mobile phones, then it may be worth upgrading to the WiFi service with the latest WiFi technology.

Managing User Experience to address varying user device capabilities

Implement a Guest Internet WiFi controller to manage bandwidth allocation per user or for a group of users. Maintain backward compatibility to support older devices. Educate users about your WiFi service and explain the differences in WiFi technologies so they can better understand why they are experiencing slow Internet connections.

Conclusion

While upgrading to WiFi 7 offers significant advantages, businesses must balance this with their specific needs and user base. Understanding the WiFi ecosystem ensures optimal service delivery and prepares for future connectivity challenges. There are also other factors that can influence the speed of an Internet connection. Please read this article on the WISPzone blog called "Behind the scenes of running a WiFi Internet service for staff, customers and visitors"