IEEE 802.11be-2024[4] or802.11be, dubbedExtremely High Throughput (EHT), is awireless networking standard in theIEEE802.11 set of protocols[5][6] which is designatedWi-Fi 7 by theWi-Fi Alliance.[7][8][9] It has built upon802.11ax, focusing onWLAN indoor and outdoor operation with stationary and pedestrian speeds in the 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz frequency bands.[10]
In a single band,throughput reaches a theoretical maximum of 23 Gbit/s, although actual results are much lower.
Development of the 802.11be amendment began with an initial draft in March 2021 and the final version was published on 22 July 2025.[11][8][12][13] Despite this, numerous products were announced in 2022 based ondraft standards, with retail availability in early 2023. On 8 January 2024, the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced itsWi-Fi Certified 7 program to certify Wi-Fi 7 devices as the technical requirements were essentially complete.[14][15][16]
The following are core features that have been approved as of Draft 3.0:
4096-QAM (4K-QAM) enables each symbol to carry 12 bits rather than 10 bits, resulting in 20% higher theoretical transmission rates than WiFi 6's 1024-QAM. This feature isoptional for Wi-Fi 7 certification.[17]
Contiguous and non-contiguous 320/160+160 MHz and 240/160+80 MHz bandwidth. This feature isoptional for Wi-Fi 7 certification.[17][b]
Multi-link Operation (MLO), a feature that increases capacity by simultaneously sending and receiving data across different frequency bands and channels. (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz). This feature ismandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.[17]
8 spatial streams and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) protocol enhancements. (Initial 16 but removed from the specs in 2024).
Flexible Channel Utilization – Interference currently can negate an entire Wi-Fi channel. With preamble puncturing, a portion of the channel that is affected by interference can be blocked off while continuing to use the rest of the channel. This feature ismandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.[17][c]
MultipleResource Unit (MRU) – Improves OFDMA technology from Wi-Fi 6, allowing a single user to have multiple Resource Units. This feature ismandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.[17]
^abIEEE 802.11y-2008 extended operation of 802.11a to the licensed 3.7 GHz band. Increased power limits allow a range up to 5,000 m. As of 2009[update], it is only being licensed in the United States by theFCC.
^abcdefghiBased on shortguard interval; standard guard interval is ~10% slower. Rates vary widely based on distance, obstructions, and interference.
^abcdefghFor single-user cases only, based on defaultguard interval which is 0.8 microseconds. Since multi-user viaOFDMA has become available for 802.11ax, these may decrease. Also, these theoretical values depend on the link distance, whether the link is line-of-sight or not, interferences and themulti-path components in the environment.
^abThe defaultguard interval is 0.8 microseconds. However, 802.11ax extended the maximum availableguard interval to 3.2 microseconds, in order to support Outdoor communications, where the maximum possible propagation delay is larger compared to Indoor environments.
The 802.11be Task Group is led by individuals affiliated with Qualcomm, Intel, and Broadcom. Those affiliated withHuawei,Maxlinear,NXP, andApple also have senior positions.[13]
TheLinux 6.2 kernel provides support for Wi-Fi 7 devices. The 6.4 kernel added Wi-Fi 7 mesh support.[45] Linux 6.5 included significant driver support by Intel engineers, particularly support for MLO.[46]
Support for Wi-Fi 7 was added toWindows 11, as of build 26063.1.[47][48]
^Giordano, Lorenzo; Geraci, Giovanni; Carrascosa, Marc; Bellalta, Boris (21 November 2023). "What Will Wi-Fi 8 Be? A Primer on IEEE 802.11bn Ultra High Reliability".IEEE Communications Magazine.62 (8): 126.arXiv:2303.10442.Bibcode:2024IComM..62h.126G.doi:10.1109/MCOM.001.2300728.
^López-Pérez, David (12 February 2019). "IEEE 802.11be – Extremely High Throughput: The Next Generation of Wi-Fi Technology Beyond 802.11ax".arXiv:1902.04320 [cs.IT].
^IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems- Local and Metropolitan Area Networks- Specific Requirements Part II: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications.doi:10.1109/ieeestd.2003.94282.ISBN0-7381-3701-4.
