WiFi 7 and SD-WAN Are Improving the Workplace Experience for SMBs

Wi-Fi 7 Offers the Most Future-Proof Network Enhancements

Wi-Fi 7 is the elephant in the room when it comes to in-office networking. It has been commercially available since January 2024 and has left many businesses wondering whether or not to upgrade. For context, it’s worth reviewing the benefits of Wi-Fi 7.

Ultrafast Speeds

Wi-Fi 7 supports data rates of up to 46 Gbps, enabling rapid file transfers and seamless high-definition videoconferencing, which are both crucial for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that handle large data volumes or rely on real-time communication for operations.

For comparison, Wi-Fi 6E has maximum data rates of 9.6 gigabits per second. Wi-Fi 5 has a theoretical maximum throughput of 3.5Gbps.

“With Wi-Fi 7, employees can enjoy lag-free videoconferencing even in highly dense environments such as open office spaces or large meeting rooms,” Matt MacPherson, Cisco’s wireless CTO tells BizTech. “It’s a future-ready solution for bandwidth-intensive and latency-sensitive applications like AR/VR, 4K/8K video streaming, and advanced collaboration tools.”

Multi-Link Operation for Enhanced Capacity

Wi-Fi 7 can operate across 2.4 gigahertz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands simultaneously. This accommodates more devices, reducing congestion in device-dense environments like open-plan offices.

Each band has its benefits and drawbacks. For instance, the 2.4GHz band is the slowest at transmitting information, but its longer wave is able to penetrate physical barriers more easily. Conversely, 5GHz and 6GHz offer higher frequency, which makes them ideal for higher-latency functions like video. The other benefit of the shorter-wave bands — especially 6GHz — is that they tend to be less cluttered because they are newer, and fewer devices are compatible with them.

While Wi-Fi 6E has a 6GHz band, it doesn’t provide concurrent connectivity to multiple bands. Only Wi-Fi 7 has multi-link operation (MLO).

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Improved Reliability in More Than One Way

MLO also provides reliability benefits.

“If one link experiences interference or congestion, data can seamlessly shift to another, ensuring uninterrupted performance,” MacPherson says. “This is particularly valuable for mission-critical applications like telemedicine, industrial automation or AR/VR environments, where even minor disruptions can have significant consequences.”

Preamble puncturing is another reliability-boosting feature that exists on both Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6E.

“It allows access points to use fragmented spectrum more effectively by transmitting data on subchannels that are not affected by interference,” MacPherson says. “This ensures that devices can maintain high performance even in environments with significant RF congestion, such as urban areas or dense office buildings.”

For an SMB or startup that operates out of a suite in a large office building or bustling business park, this reliability is crucial to business continuity.

Wi-Fi 6E Is Still a Step Up From Wi-Fi 6 and 5

Wi-Fi 7 is significantly faster than Wi-Fi 6E. Because of MLO, it’s also much more reliable. Therefore, it’s inherently more future-proof than Wi-Fi 6E.

“While the initial investment may be higher, the long-term value of Wi-Fi 7 lies in its ability to handle the growing demands of next-generation applications and devices, extending the lifespan of network infrastructure and reducing the need for frequent upgrades,” MacPherson says.

That said, for companies that aren’t ready to transition to Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6E does open up the 6GHz spectrum and can significantly improve network performance over its predecessors.

“For organizations currently using Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6, upgrading to Wi-Fi 6E can still offer meaningful enhancements in speed, capacity and efficiency without the higher cost of Wi-Fi 7,” MacPherson says.

RELATED: Consider these three factors for a successful transition to Wi-Fi 6E

SD-WAN Is Optimal for Multilocation Businesses

Businesses or startups that have 200 to 500 employees might have multiple physical offices. This is typical for software companies, marketing agencies and other B2B businesses.

Wi-Fi, of course, is an enhancement to a particular campus, as opposed to all locations. For businesses that are spread out, software-defined WAN provides a higher-level enhancement of how traffic is routed to, and between, different physical sites and can help manage the flow of network traffic.

“Wi-Fi connects users to local resources, while SD-WAN ensures that business-critical applications, whether hosted in the cloud or on-premises, receive optimal performance and security,” McPherson explains.

Increasingly, SD-WAN is being offered as a benefit tacked on to next-generation firewalls or to a secure access service edge. Fortinet, for instance, offers NGFW and SASE products specifically for small businesses.

So, while upgrading to Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 can vastly improve performance for individual sites, SD-WAN helps maintain the integrity of these updates by governing the traffic between them.

“By combining high-performance Wi-Fi with SD-WAN, businesses can prioritize traffic, reduce latency and improve resiliency,” MacPherson says. “This is particularly important as applications and workflows grow more cloud-centric.”