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Although still far from mainstream, Wi-Fi 7 is finally on its way to residents of multifamily communities. Quantum Fiber, a Lumen Technologies brand, has been busy readying this new technology, which represents a huge leap in capabilities and speed over today’s fiber internet deployments by enhancing wireless network capacity, efficiency, security, and coverage.
“We’re super excited to bring this latest iteration of Wi-Fi technology to the market,” said Susan Chandler, senior manager for Quantum Fiber product management. “Wi-Fi 7 represents our goal to deliver the best fiber-internet experience.”
The benefits of Quantum Fiber’s Wi-Fi 7 capable devices, over Wi-Fi 6, include:
- Superior coverage: One device covers up to 90 percent of most homes, dramatically reducing the need to buy and install additional mesh-pods. This equipment can be installed in outdoor common areas as well.
- Multiuser capability: Supports multiple users and gigabit bandwidth demands with 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz radios working together for high-speed data transmission, minimizing the need to run ethernet cables to separate rooms in a home.
- Improved latency and speed: Being connected to an ethernet cord is no longer necessary for ultra-fast speed. Now customers can get multi-gig Wi-Fi speeds. And the device offers fewer than 3 milliseconds of latency and seamless integration with the Quantum Fiber multi-gig network.
- Better user experience: This Wi-Fi 7 device is part of Quantum Fiber® Instant 360 WiFiSM and is fully integrated and controlled through the Quantum Fiber app, which offers advanced parental controls and cybersecurity protections.
- High-performance applications: Wi-Fi 7 is ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications like 8K video streaming, cloud gaming, VR, and transferring large multimedia files.
- Other advanced technologies: W1700K Wi-Fi 7 pod contains a built-in global positioning system (GPS) chip, improving 6GHz range performance to comply with upcoming FCC specifications.
First Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7™ device
At the January 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Wi-Fi Alliance® awarded Lumen Technologies Wi-Fi 7 certifications for two wireless devices–the first company in the industry to achieve this honor. The W1700K desk or wall-mount router covers 90 percent of homes with a higher data capacity, and the W1701K plug-in device extends Wi-Fi 7 coverage throughout larger homes or businesses to eliminate dead zones.
Lumen designed these mesh pod devices for its Quantum Fiber residential and small business customers to deliver faster speeds and better coverage than Wi-Fi 6. The equipment is being rolled out in Connected Communities as Instant 360 WiFi.
In more technical terms, key advances over Wi-Fi 6 that Wi-Fi 7 will deliver are:
- Better throughput: Wi-Fi 7 enables multi-gig Wi-Fi throughput to clients, which is a substantial improvement from Wi-Fi 6. This will help boost performance of 4K and 8K video streaming, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), and industrial internet of things (IoT) applications.
- Lower latency and less jitter: By deploying time-sensitive networking, Wi-Fi 7 is expected to support low latency and deliver ultra-reliability, which will be particularly helpful for IoT applications requiring real-time operations. For competitive gamers, this is a true game-changer for internet speed and latency.
- Multi-link operations: Wi-Fi 7 introduces a technology called multi-link operation that allows devices to transmit and receive data over multiple links simultaneously. This enhances network efficiency and reliability, particularly in environments that struggle with interference from other, nearby devices.
- Enhanced quality-of-service (QoS) management: By integrating advanced QoS management, Wi-Fi 7 will boost performance of latency-sensitive applications by prioritizing network traffic based on the type of service required by each application.
- Capable of operating in multiple frequencies: To support increased throughput and capacity requirements, Wi-Fi 7 is backwards compatible and will be able to operate across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. This helps accommodate more devices and ensures smoother network operations across a wider portfolio of applications.
How Wi-Fi 7 is an industry game-changer
First and foremost, tailored solutions by Quantum Fiber expert engineers are designed for Wi-Fi 7 coverage for fiber-to-the-home or fiber-to-the-unit communities. Wi-Fi 7 installation provides an easy way to connect homes or units to high-speed fiber internet. Typically, it is discreetly installed in a utility room. And better Wi-Fi coverage than Wi-Fi 6 means less mesh equipment and RJ45 connections throughout the home are required.
Plus, Wi-Fi 7 is easy for residents to use because it can handle so many different frequencies, which allows for a huge ecosystem of compatible resident and property devices, including laptops, TVs, smart-sensors, IoT gadgets, and more. The fact that Wi-Fi 7 is backwards compatible with previous Wi-Fi generations saves you and your residents significant amounts of money by eliminating the need to buy compatible devices.
In densely populated areas or close quarters, Wi-Fi interference from neighbors’ older generation routers is reduced. Wi-Fi 7 offers device detection to reduce bandwidth congestion as well as significantly more channels than Wi-Fi 6. Your residents’ devices can also send and receive data from multiple access points.
The expense to incorporate Wi-Fi 7 is nominal compared to previous generation equipment.
The revolution has begun
These compact Wi-Fi 7 devices unlock sizable capacity and access to future-proof fiber internet by enabling significantly higher throughput, reduced latency, formidable security measures, and ease of installation and use, making it a great choice for residential communities.
Quantum Fiber, which serves homes and small businesses throughout 16 states, installed its first customer Wi-Fi 7 devices in December 2023, and plans to broadly roll out this technology to customers beginning mid-2024.
Contact a Quantum Fiber Connected Communities expert to learn about connectivity solutions tailored to your multifamily community.
Quantum Fiber® Connected Communities provides customized fiber solutions for apartments and communities.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7TM is a trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance®.
