Realtek's Wi-Fi 7 Speed Demo At Computex Makes Your 1Gbps LAN Port Look Slow
Realtek showed off one of its new Wi-Fi 7 modules at Computex with blisteringly fast connectivity speeds of up to 2800Mbps. To demonstrate, Realtek set up a demo at its booth benchmarking the new module with some added interference from a second source. Despite the additional interference, the module was still capable of delivering almost 2Gbps of bandwidth, which is nearly double the speed of Wi-Fi 6 modules utilizing a 2x2 antenna setup and a standard ethernet LAN port. Realtek doesn’t specify antenna setups for the new Wi-Fi 7 module, but apparently, it is a 2x2 arrangement as well.
The new Realtek module is known as the RTL8922AE and will come in two form factors, a 1620 solder-down variant (aimed at compact non-upgradable platforms), and a standard M.2 2230 version. The module has a peak-rated transfer speed of 2880Mbps when utilizing 5GHz and 6GHz bands simultaneously, and includes support for the latest version of Bluetooth, 5.4. The new module also has support for Multi-Link Operation or MLO, up to two spatial streams, and supports channel widths of up to 160MHz. Realtek has not provided a price or launch date for this product.
Realtek did provide a roadmap of its future Wi-Fi 7 routers, with specs featuring 2.5G wired networking, and SKUs featuring up to eight antennas in total, with four dedicated to the Wi-Fi 6 band entirely. If everything goes to plan, Realtek will be launching three new routers in 2024 Q3, including the BE3600, BE6400, and BE 7200, and two more in Q4 known as the BE 6500 and BE 9400. The former three are lower-end SKUs supporting only 2GHz and 5GHz bands, while the latter two will support the full suite of Wi-Fi 7 bands including 2GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz.
Wi-Fi 7 is a new wireless standard that is set to succeed Wi-Fi 6E later this year. Wi-Fi 7 will provide a substantial leap in wireless bandwidth over its predecessors by more effectively utilizing the frequencies Wi-Fi 6E already possesses. The cornerstone of Wi-Fi 7 technology is an enhanced version of Multi-Link Operation. It allows a router to connect to a device with multiple bands simultaneously instead of just one. This means a single device can use the full bandwidth potential of 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz simultaneously in the right conditions.
This is just one of many new features supported in Wi-Fi 7. Others include greater channel widths, spatial streams, and more to increase performance and decrease latency compared to previous standards. For more details be sure to check out some of our previous Wi-Fi 7 coverage here.
Images courtesy of TechPowerUp
