As we closed out 2024 in preparation for what’s shaping up to be a busy 2025, LitePoint joined a group of wireless technology experts for RCR Wireless News’ annual “State of Wi-Fi” webinar. Hosted by managing editor, Catherine Sbeglia Nin, and featuring industry colleagues from Cisco, Spirent and the Wi-Fi Alliance, the webinar explored technical considerations influencing Wi-Fi 7 adoption, including wireless test from R&D to commercial deployment.

The Wi-Fi 7 certification program was introduced in January 2024 by the Wi-Fi Alliance, indicating the technology was ready for mass market adoption. Wi-Fi 7 was expected to account for about six percent of the more than four billion Wi-Fi devices projected to ship worldwide last year, but by 2028, forecasts indicate it could represent nearly half of the market.

In large part, adoption rates will surge because Wi-Fi 7 has a number of features that distinguish it from Wi-Fi 6/6E. These include the doubling of channel bandwidth from 160MHz to 320MHz, higher speed thanks to support for 4K (4096) QAM modulation, and perhaps most importantly, the introduction of multi-link operation (MLO).

Unlike Wi-Fi 6/6E, which can only access a single frequency band at a time, MLO allows for simultaneous use and aggregation of different bands. This means that regions with access to the 6GHz band can use different channels within the same band or aggregate any combination of 2.4, 5 and 6GHz. Regions that do not use the 6GHz band will still benefit, because they can aggregate different channels within the 2.4 and 5GHz frequency bands to achieve higher throughput or reliability. That flexibility paves the way for Wi-Fi 7 to support immersive digital functions such as augmented and virtual reality, in addition to higher-resolution video streaming and the expanded network capacity required by IoT devices.

Accelerate Wi-Fi 7 Deployment Through Pre-Certification

Our customers use LitePoint’s scalable test solutions across the entire Wi-Fi development ecosystem, from reference designs, characterization and validation to volume manufacturing. 

As we move from the Wi-Fi 7 R&D tooling cycle into commercial ramp-up, customers should be incorporating access-point pre-certification into their test strategies. Pre-certification testing ensures compliance with regulatory standards and interoperability requirements for smooth integration into the ecosystem to enhance spectrum utilization, power transmission flexibility and expanded range.

Pre-certification also protects incumbents in the 6GHz band by ensuring brands and their OEM and ODM partners adhere to FCC and other regulatory standards. This is especially important in the 6GHz band, which is host to many point-to-point microwave links used for essential infrastructure needs by firefighters, emergency medical responders, gas and water utilities and other public safety and law enforcement officials, as well as live news feeds that use broadband and satellite links. 

FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance Create Access Point Test Beds

The FCC formulated transmit-power rules as a management tool by classifying Wi-Fi 7 access points according to low power, very low power and standard-power outdoor devices. This guideline for access points operating in the 6GHz spectrum includes automated frequency coordination (AFC) to avoid signal transmission on channels, or at power levels, that could interfere with incumbent services. 

From an RF or physical layer perspective, this may sound simple. However, given the implications at the application level, the ability of a Wi-Fi access point to transmit at maximum power is significant. This is so, because power levels affect how efficiently the spectrum in use can extend transmission range and improve signal-to-noise ratio performance – both of which are critical for enabling dense modulation schemes and supporting advanced use cases.

To track compliance, the FCC and government bodies, in addition to the Wi Fi Alliance, have developed their own Wi-Fi 7 pre-certification test beds, which help devices align with FCC rules for Maximum Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) based on the bandwidth in use. LitePoint supports this effort through our IQsniffer software test tool. The IQsniffer, which is pre-integrated into the Wi-Fi Alliance AFC test harness, precisely detects the signal from the standard outdoor power access point and measures power spectral density to ensure the Wi-Fi device is operating within power emission limits.

Managing Wi-Fi 7 Production Economics

As with every advancement, device bill of materials (BOM) costs tend to rise until the technology achieves an economy of scale. With Wi-Fi 7 still in its early adoption stage, per-unit device costs are higher and compounded by other expenses, ranging from R&D costs to marketing spend. One way to manage BOM costs is to use existing capital equipment, an installed hardware base that is scalable to support parallel testing of multiple devices and a user-friendly software test tool like IQfact+ that simplifies test automation.

Manufacturers are always eager to optimize equipment throughput and production efficiency, and we’ve found that a multi-device test environment has helped customers manage cost, complexity, quality – and yields – across previous Wi-Fi generations throughout pilot runs and into volume manufacturing.

With consumers looking for Wi-Fi 7 to provide a gateway to a better user experience, brands and manufacturers are under tremendous pressure to meet expectations. A comprehensive test strategy and simplified, automated tools chart a direct path to maximize tester resources, increase production efficiency, reduce test costs and accelerate time-to-market.