Until now, the most recent versions of the WiFi protocol were more focused on increasing speed, rather than connection stability. But the future arrival of WiFi 8 seems to be putting an end to this trend, since it is promoting the achievement of a stable connection over an increase in speed with respect to the previous version.
Officially known as IEEE 802.11bn UHR (Ultra High Reliability), its main characteristic according to PC World, therefore, is reliability. Even so, it will also be significantly faster than WiFi 7, since it will achieve a maximum transmission speed of up to 100 Gbps.
But this improvement in speed is not the only advance it will offer, since it will be accompanied, according to theory, of course, by a technology that is already used in some types of 5G network implementations, called millimeter wave, or mmWave). This, as we have mentioned, according to theory, because in practice, the implementation of mmWave, which provides stability to connections, aims to have certain complications associated with it, which will probably delay the appearance of the WiFi 8 standard until the next decade.
This improvement in stability is important for the advancement of WiFi connectivity, because although its WiFi 7 version is already very fast, there are times when it can be unstable. Especially when its ultra-high speed band of 6 GHz is used. The rest of the bands, however, do not seem to have that problem. However, it is likely that as manufacturers refine their WiFi 7 implementations, the problem will progressively disappear.
The lack of stability in this band may be due to protocol or firmware problems. In either case, WiFi 8 is designed to stabilize it by prioritizing reliability and efficiency over raw performance.
It will maintain the Same maximum physical layer rate as WiFi 7. 23 Gbpsusing the usual frequency bands in said protocol: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz. It does not seem like it will have much innovation, therefore, but nothing could be further from the truth. It achieves this by optimizing existing resources to improve the user experience.
Co-SR and Co-BF, technologies that provide stability to WiFi 8
To do this, among other things, uses Co-SR technology (Coordinated Spatial Reuse, or Coordinated Spatial Reuse). Its mission is to allow access points to adjust their power output, dynamically, based on the proximity of devices and other access points.
This should substantially reduce WiFi network congestion as well as interference. It can potentially improve overall system performance by 15% to 25%, leading to many fewer failed connections and faster response times. Even on networks with a lot of traffic and connected devices.
Another novelty that WiFi 8 will incorporate is the Co-BF technology (Coordinated Beamforming or coordinated beam emission). This is a technology created from others used in previous versions of the WiFi protocol, which allows several access points to work collaboratively, directing signals to active devices more efficiently.
Therefore, it is especially designed to improve connection performance in congested environments, and can improve connectivity performance in mesh network configurations by between 20% and 50%. Another advance is DSOa technology that allocates bandwidth to devices dynamically and based on their capabilities and needs.
If everything goes according to the forecasts of those working on the development of WiFi 7, this technology can improve the results of connections that use it by 80%, or even more, which will speed up data transfer. But many doubt that it will provide such a notable improvement, so we will have to wait for the final development and deployment of this future version of WiFi to see if it finally delivers what it promises.
Reliability, key
But despite the improvements in speed and power thanks to these technologies, Where the main advantage of WiFi 8 will lie is its reliability. This new version of the protocol will be developed to be more effective in using the available network spectrum.
In this way, it will allow the simultaneous connection of more devices, without causing any drops in performance. This is a very important function to address the difficulties of having more and more connected devices, both in companies and in homes.
The possibility of lower latency and more stable connections can open the door to new possibilities in terms of advanced applications, which consume a lot of bandwidth and power. For example, virtual or augmented reality, as well as real-time games. In the business field, it can also be a notable advance for the growth of industrial automation.
Of course, as we have mentioned, we are still quite far from seeing the implementation of this technology in companies and homes, and compatible products. To begin with, this standard is not even finished. It will not be, nor will it be submitted for approval, until 2027. If everything goes as planned and there are no setbacks, we may begin to see some products already compatibleas soon as possible, early 2028.
