Wi‑Fi 7 and 6 standards expand, exposing performance gaps in broadband routers

In the past two years Wi‑Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be) has moved from premium plans to mainstream French fibre offers, with monthly subscriptions under €30. However, not all Wi‑Fi 7 boxes deliver the same speeds: some operators provide a tri‑band design using 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz, while others limit devices to a bi‑band configuration on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The newer standard adds 4K‑QAM modulation, 320 MHz channel width, Multi‑Link Operation (MLO) and enhanced OFDMA, promising higher throughput, lower latency and more stable connections for compatible devices.

Wi‑Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) already improves on Wi‑Fi 5 by raising theoretical throughput to up to 9.6 Gbit/s and employing OFDMA and expanded MU‑MIMO to serve many devices simultaneously. It also re‑introduces the 2.4 GHz band with better interference handling via BSS Coloring, yielding steadier performance in dense homes and apartments. Together, the two standards illustrate the rapid evolution of home wireless networking, with newer routers offering greater speed and capacity but requiring compatible client hardware to realize the benefits.