The new platforms leverage 5GHz and 6GHz bands with support for 240MHz and 320Mhz channels, which translates into more spectrum available for Wi-Fi 7 devices. Qualcomm claims its Wi-Fi 7 platforms will have a total capacity of 20 Gbps, a number that sounds large, but as we continue to stream video, play video games online and with the eventual (maybe?) wide adoption of AR/VR devices, that capacity will be required in order to provide a low latency experience. Qualcomm is also debuting a new Multi-Link Mesh feature to its Wi-Fi 7 platform that will benefit the mesh nodes, non-Wi-Fi 7 devices as well as Wi-Fi 7 devices by dynamically switching between available spectrum and channels in order to facilitate communication between the nodes, but also provide more throughput and bandwidth to devices as its needed. Currently, mesh networks have a dedicated backhaul connection that isn’t shared with other devices on the network. Wi-Fi 7, according to Qualcomm, can provide speeds up to 5.8 Gbps to a single device. (Side note: If you have a connection that fast at your home, I’m insanely jealous.) Qualcomm has started working with its hardware partners and mesh Wi-Fi manufacturers on integrating Wi-Fi 7 into their systems, and says we can expect to see updated mesh systems in the second half of 2023.
