Martin May, Business Development: Networking at Duxbury
As outlined in part one of this series, Wi-Fi 7 moves wireless networking from a best-effort connection to an intelligent, high-capacity edge. Now we look at why organisations are accelerating upgrade plans and what this means for South African network design.
For years, users were told to “plug in for the important stuff.” That assumption is fading.
Wi-Fi 7 brings wider 320 MHz channels, 4096-QAM modulation, and Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which allows devices to use multiple bands at once for greater speed and stability. In practice, the access layer becomes a predictable, high-capacity fabric rather than a weak link.
The Everyday Impact
Latency and reliability now reach wired-like levels. Traditional clients ride a single band, switching only when conditions worsen. Wi-Fi 7 clients can combine 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz links or hold one in reserve for redundancy. Vendors are already demonstrating round-trip figures under two milliseconds in ideal conditions — enough to make time-sensitive applications feel seamless.
Throughput headroom has expanded dramatically. Laboratory peaks near 46 Gbps are theoretical, yet even mainstream testing shows multi-gigabit potential under favourable conditions — far beyond the design limits of most legacy WLANs.
Density and scheduling also improve. The 6 GHz band adds clean spectrum, while features such as preamble puncturing and smarter airtime allocation keep performance consistent when many users connect simultaneously. It is not just about speed; it is about responsiveness for everyone at once.
Where the advantage shows up
- Manufacturing and logistics. Guided assembly, remote assistance, and training scenarios depend on low-jitter video and precise motion. This is awkward on older Wi-Fi. With MLO and wider channels, wireless AR/XR becomes viable on the factory floor without dragging cables across safety zones. Expect more mobile, camera-rich workflows.
- Healthcare. Patient monitoring and mobile imaging benefit from predictable airtime and a clean spectrum in the 6GHz band. Industry roadmaps even point to tele-diagnostics and telesurgery as developing use cases as latency budgets shrink.
- Trading floors and real-time analytics. Low-latency, high-density wireless allows desks to move, scale, and recover faster than a fully wired fit-out. When the edge is stable, firms can reconfigure seating pods, spin up project spaces, and keep market-data visualisations fluid during peaks.
- Everyday knowledge work. The most significant quality-of-life gain is consistency. Wi-Fi 7 prioritisation and multi-link resilience mean someone’s huge dataset sync no longer freezes everyone’s video. Meetings, file transfers, and cloud work can overlap without the ‘who’s killing the Wi-Fi?’ shouts.
Why upgrade cycles are being pulled forward
Two forces are driving rapid adoption. First, the standard is complete. IEEE 802.11be is formally ratified, and certification has been active since early 2024. Second, devices are available. Research shows double-digit enterprise WLAN growth this year, with Wi-Fi 7 expected to dominate indoor access-point revenue by 2028.
Design implications for South African companies
- Plan for 6GHz from day one. ICASA has already opened the lower 6GHz band for licence-exempt Wi-Fi. Plan your RF survey and AP placement with 6GHz in mind to realise Wi-Fi 7’s density and latency benefits.
- Design for predictability, not just speed. Lean on MLO for redundancy, configure QoS with intent, and keep latency budgets front-of-mind for AR/XR and wireless displays. The goal is predictable performance during contention.
- Refresh endpoints strategically. You only unlock the full benefit when clients support MLO and 6GHz. Stage refreshes so high-impact roles (collaboration-heavy, floor operations and executive meeting rooms) get Wi-Fi 7-capable devices early.
Wi-Fi 7 is a practical way to turn wireless into a dependable platform for work that used to be ‘wired-only,’ while packing more people and devices into the same space without friction. When the network feels immediate and resilient, teams move faster and companies adapt quickly. That is why the race to upgrade is on, and why those who design with 6 GHz and the intelligent edge in mind will see the earliest gains.
